You have survived your second circle, I can feel you spiritual power growing, and yet you still have much room to grow. The next circle you must face might be one of the most gruesome circles you will face. Ready your mind and venture forth.
The third circle is a cold and uncaring place, where those who've done nothing with their life other than indulge themselves, be it with food, entertainment, or anything else that serves no greater purpose than their own selfishness. It is a land of sightless soul, going nowhere, caring for nothing, not even themselves, on their thirst for indulgence. Here you will find a dark land that is plagued by a constant downpour of cold rain, and a stench that burns the nostrils. It is a wasteland of rotting garbage, the remains of that which these souls filled their lives with. Here the departed souls are stuck in a continuous circle of indulgence, be it eating, drinking, or watching television, unending. You may not have trouble with these souls, as they care, or rather can not care, for anything outside their bubble.
That all said, these souls are guarded by the remains of their true selves to make sure they never leave their personal hells, punishment for denying themselves their hidden talents and dreams. If you venture too close these guards will attack you, Yamask to be exact. They will attempt force their mask on you so that they could return to the mortal world and live out a new life and realize their potential. Furthermore, do not look into the eyes of these masks, you will see into that person's hell, tormented visions as they realized their life was meaningless.
Make your way across the wasteland, to a place known as 'The Swamp'. A literal swamp at the center of the third circle, a soulless place of weeds and dead trees where the mud hides many dangers such as many Frillish lying in wait to suck the spiritual force right out of you. At the center of the swamp, deep within a mud pit, slumbers the master of gluttony, the mighty devourer of souls, the great worm, Thul. A monstrous Jellicent unlike any you could have ever seen. Giant in size and dark green in color, its menacing red eyes can cast a maddening Hex on its enemies, which is powerful enough to shatter their minds with a single glance. The evil creature sports numerous, some say an infinite amount of, tentacles which a single touch can drain away a large portion of one's spiritual force. As if all that wasn't enough, touching his body can inflict a horrible curse upon you, preventing you from harnessing your power. Be brave however, as you must consume the flesh of one of Thul's tentacles to pass this challenge. Sounds gross, I know, but by doing so your own spiritual force will increase greatly, giving you enough power to upgrade your artifact (Channeler), or perhaps learn a new move (hybrid).
Now, summon your master with The Killing Stone upon Mt. Pyre and have her open the gate for you. I wish you the best of luck.
Objective: ---Go to the top of Mt. Pyre and use The Killing Stone to summon forth Amaya, who will then open the gate to The Underworld for you, namely The Third Circle, Gluttony. ---Traverse the garbage ridden wasteland and its freezing rain. Beware the Yamask along the way. ---Once you find your way to The Swamp, you must brave the Frillish that lie beneath the mud, waiting to consume you. ---When you make it to the center of the swamp, the Great Worm himself should appear to accept your challenge. Face Thul and take a piece of one of its tentacles for yourself so that you may consume it and increase your own power. Its doubtful you can defeat, or even overpower Thul, so you must use your wits.
Opposition: ---Yamask which will attempt to show your the regret filled minds of the souls which wasted their lives, and then attempt to force their mask on you. ---The Swamp is filled with Frillish that want to consume your spiritual force, beware. ---The Devourer of Souls, the Great Worm, Thul the Jellicent.
Pokemon: ---None, you can't capture Pokemon as physical items can not transcend.
Rewards: -For the Hybrid: ---Thul's tentacle will give you enough spiritual energy to learn a new move. ---The ability to take on the next Ghost Master Mission.
-For the Channeler: ---The Spirit Chain will absorb Thul's tentacle and form a new charm, the Charm of Gluttony.
The Spirit Chain (With three charms): [Image to be added]
Charm of Gluttony: [Image to be added] [The ability to absorb the life force of other living creatures through touch in order to restore your own energy. Beware, as over usage can cause one to go mad as they begin to gain the memories of their target. Use with caution.]
Posted: Sat May 31, 2014 9:49 pm
Odd held The Killing Stone in his hand as he paced back and forth in his room. He had heard nothing from Amaya of late regarding his training and despite the fact that he didn't think it was his place to question his Master, he wanted to know what was taking so long to give him his next training mission. So, against his better judgement, he collected a bag of supplies, grabbed Cadenza's Pokeball along with Dissonance's and headed out of HQ. Releasing his Golurk outside, he climbed into the mighty beast's hands and told it to take him to Mt Pyre.
Trying to keep his thoughts in check, he wondered what kind of mission he would be on when and if Amaya decided he was ready for it. As it so happened(and he was thankful for it) the Killing Stone began to glow softly as the voices of Tui and La rang out to him.
The Mistress beckons Come to her as quickly as you can Another trial is at hand Close to death yet still far from it You must face the truth of it Beckoning, the Mistress waits Now come and face the fates
“Those two couldn't have any better timing, could they?” Odd asked himself as Tui and La's voices faded from his spirit. Clenched safely in Dissonance's hands, the immense automaton didn't hear him, not that it would have over the wind rushing around them in flight but that wasn't the point of the channeler speaking anyway.
We will likely have our work cut out for us here. Be prepared for anything, my friend.
I will.
Cadenza's words stuck with Odd. The Ghost-type might be in it's ball but his soul could still resonate with his master's even with the technological barrier between them.
The remainder of the trip was occupied only by the sounds of the wind rushing around them outside of Dissonance's makeshift cabin and the occasional sound of a flying type or bird Pokemon being angered by Dissonance's flight path not accounting for them. Odd was thankful for not having to bear the guilt of his Pokemon being responsible for orphaned Bug-types today but that didn't alleviate what he felt from the last trip here.
Using his ever increasing spiritual senses, he was able to navigate the forest even more skillfully than before as he ascended Mt. Pyre with speed. His Pokemon returned to it's Pokeball, Odd grasped the Killing Stone in hand as he reached the abandoned school and made his way to the pond which housed Tui and La. Though he found, now, that Amaya was not present to greet him. “Don't tell me, I have to summon her myself?” He asked of the pair of Goldeen circling one another in their pond.
The response of them circling a bit faster was all he needed. Tui and La only spoke to him when Amaya wished to convey a message, after all. Gripping the Killing Stone tighter, he began to focus his energy into it, attempting to flood the fragment of his teacher's power with his own life force. The stone reacted to the surge of new energy and began to glow brightly, threads of spiritual energy exploding from it in all directions before they coalesced into the form of Amaya, the spirit channeling spirit.
“Welcome back, my student. I have prepared the next step in your training.” She greeted Odd with a small bow which the young Channeler-in-training returned courteously.
“I assume I'm to return to the Otherworld?” Odd asked as he stood before his master.
“Quite so. You will be entering the third circle of the Otherworld this time. It is the personification of Gluttony. An attribute of humans so very foul that all that comes to those afflicted by it turns to garbage. It is all waste to them unless it is that which they desire. To many, it is power, to others it is food or drink and to others it is people.” Amaya explained. “And I sense that this may be the most difficult of your trials for you. You have a deep desire for something but what I cannot tell.....”
“I'll tell you now. I always wanted family. I never had one as a child but I've come to terms with something since then. I've found one. I may have to fight my desire for other things but those will be nothing to that, I'm sure.” Odd responded in a somber tone.
“Perhaps. But do not become overconfident in yourself. Rely upon yourself, your abilities thus far and your partner.” Amaya said as she looked down to Tui and La. “Open the gate to Gluttony. My disciple will enter now.”
“Cadenza....let's go.” Odd said as he released his partner Pokemon, making certain his others were safe in their Pokeballs. Cadenza offered a nod and the two entered through the gate Tui and La had forged while their focus was on one another. Before entering, however, Odd noticed something he hadn't before. At the top of the gate was a figure he had seen before, though only in the Otherworld. Atropos.
Entering the gate, Odd found the light from within to be not of the spiritual world surrounding him but of the world itself being visible to him now, from the outside. The instant the gate closed behind them, Odd found one thing that he had never expected to find here. Senses. He had thus far experienced only shadows of the senses, a perception his mind had forced upon this nonphysical form of himself, but he realized now, as he shivered from the freezing rain pouring down upon him and gagged upon the nagging stench of decay that each time he had ventured here before, he had left his body behind. And now, it would seem, he was strong enough to bring it with him, though his possessions all filtered through his fingers as he attempted to touch them, apparently still bound to the physical plane.
“You have begun to truly develop your power at long last, Odd. You are capable of fully passing into this plane of existence now.” Cadenza spoke as he floated beside his partner.
“Maybe so. Let's get out of here as quickly as possible, then. I don't like this place in the slightest.” Odd replied as he began to trek through the swamp-like bog surrounding The Swamp proper. He felt the pull of the murky water beneath his feet as he walked, attempting to phase through the muck in an effort to not become stuck but the more he fought the sinking of his body into the mire, the worse it became.
“I'm not getting anywhere at this rate.....” He groaned after a moment, finding a spindly tree growing from a semi-solid outcropping of land and attempting to haul himself out of the murk with it's trunk.
“Perhaps we should attempt navigating from more solid ground, then? It will take longer but it may be the safer option.” Cadenza suggested as he used his Telekinesis to help Odd extricate himself from the swamp mud's sticky grip.
“Probably a good idea.” Odd agreed, stepping up and onto a firmer bit of soggy ground than where he had been. “We need to be careful of the mud here. It seems like it's sole purpose is to swallow up anything that comes into contact with it.”
“That would be the purpose of this place, the Circle of Gluttony.”
“Who said that?” Odd's head snapped around as he asked the question, certain he already knew the answer. “Atropos?” He wondered aloud, the voice all to familiar to him and more uncomfortably, with him. “I'm getting tired of this Atropos. I know you're not my godfather and I'm positive you know nothing of my parents.” He said as he prepared himself for what may come.
“No, not Atropos. But an associate, one might say.” The voice replied. This time, it was more effeminate than before. “I am Vorace. The gatekeeper of this Circle. You have entered here in search of something, yes, Channeler?” The woman asked, revealing herself at last. A Mismagius hybrid if Odd had ever seen such a thing before.
“I have and you are not it.” Odd replied.
Be wary of this woman. I have heard of Vorace. She is a woman of great greed who will go to great lengths to steal your power. Cadenza's voice rang out in his soul, giving Odd fair warning.
“I see. You come seeking an audience with Thul, do you not?” Vorace asked as she drifted around Odd in a tight circle, her feet only just making contact with the ground as if it rejected her very touch. “But Thul will not speak with just anyone, Channeler. He is king of the self gratifying. He speaks only with those who entertain him.” She said as she reached out a hand and held Odd's chin in a delicate grip, the wispy touch of her flesh upon his own causing the young Channeler's skin to crawl.
“I can't say I would blame him. If I were in his position, I might be just the same, if all I had to care for was seeking my own pleasure and I took pleasure in what I did.” Odd replied, figuring that a blunt response tinged with a bit of cryptic dissidence might lead him to the information he might be looking for. He needed to know the safest route through the swamp and perhaps entertaining this creature would bring him closer to finding that without risking his own life and limbs or those of his partner.
“You are a wise young thing. Thul takes great pleasure in his task and so he draws strength from it. To entertain the king, one must not only be willing to but truly execute an unexpected task before him.” Vorace stated as she backed away from Odd. “I seek to entertain the king and perhaps move up in this world.” With her final statement, Vorace disappeared into the swamp, phasing out of existence as easily as she had entered into it.
That was uncomfortable to say the least. Odd spoke into Cadenza's spirit, the two heaving a united sigh of relief.
“We're lucky she's no friend of the king....” Cadenza voiced after a while of silent contemplation. Odd nodded in agreement and replied quietly after another moment or two of silence. “I wonder what she meant by that....”
“By what?” Cadenza asked, puzzled by Odd's vocal thought.
“What she said before she left. Moving up in this world?” Odd replied, his skin crawling at the thought her touching him while he pondered her words.
“Oh, that. I told you she is the kind who will go to great lengths to steal your power. She may be intending to use you as a way to either fight or even try to overthrow the king of Gluttony, Thul.” Cadenza theorized, Odd's question making him ever more wary of the woman and her intentions. “Perhaps we should not continue just yet?” He suggested as he moved into the white-haired human's path.
“Why? Why would I stop what I've been trying to do all this for?” Odd asked as he made to push past Cadenza.
“What -are- you doing all this for?” Cadenza demanded, his voice now stern and filled with worry. “What reason could you possibly have for wanting to risk your very soul on gaining power?”
“It's not the power I want. It's the knowledge. The more I learn about the Otherworld, the more I feel like I need to finish my training and explore it. I feel like there's something here somewhere that will lead me to my family, the one I was born into, and more importantly, that will let me protect both them and the family I've found with the team.” Odd replied, his voice dropping to just above nothing.
Cadenza heard the boy's words not so much through his voice but through the vibrations of his soul. The emotional impact of what he said rang out through the area like an intangible, even here, gong. “That is a noble cause. To find the family one has never known and a desire to protect it as well as the family one has grown to be a part of over time.” Cadenza paused for a moment. “The heart is a strange thing to control. It rarely listens to reason and often gives power to those in need of it only when they are truly desperate.” He had to admit that at least Odd was leading his heart rather than allowing it to lead him.
“Then we should go. The mist is rising and the swamp will become a dangerous place when our vision is gone.” Odd agreed with his partner and the two began the harrowing trek through the murky swamp. The icy rain fell hard against them and both were forced to take cover after a while, ducking into the roots of an immense swamp willow growing along the path they followed. While they tried to warm themselves again, Odd took notice of something in the back of their little hideaway. It appeared to be an elderly man hiding away from the world outside. “What is all this? I can't even enjoy myself anymore, eh?” The man asked as he attempted to stand, though it would seem his bones were far too brittle to support him any longer and he collapsed back to the ground.
“Um.....I don't think I want to know......” Odd muttered to himself, thankful that the man hadn't turned around now. He'd gotten enough of a glimpse of him to see what he was doing and was thoroughly disgusted by the image that flashed into his mind, unbidden. “Addicts.....disgusting people.....” He grumbled, keeping his eyes focused on the world beyond the roots in which he hid. The more he looked, the more he began to realize he was only on the outskirts of the swamp. The ground was mostly solid with patches of slimy, sticky mud where the water flowing towards the center became stagnant and congealed. That must be the source of the Gods awful stink caught in his nose ever since he had arrived here; Stagnation and decay.
We should probably try to stick close to the trees. I'm seeing plenty of places to hide from the rain if we move from one root system directly to the next. He thought to Cadenza, who had been scanning the scenery same as he had.
That isn't a bad idea. We simply need to be mindful of the ones like our generous host. I feel another presence here, lingering on the edge of my senses but definitely here. Cadenza replied.
With a silent nod, the two began to move, crawling out from their hiding place in the willow's roots and dashing across the firmest portions of the bog they could on to the next tree and ducking under it as the purest cold either had ever felt began to seep into their senses from the unending storm.
“Maaaask.”
The light from outside the root system they now occupied illuminated a shadowy form hidden in the furthest corner from them. An elderly woman, it looked like. “Oh my. My, my, my.” The woman croaked out as she stroked a darkened creature in her lap. “You're a very pretty kitty. I can't wait for you to grow up so I can wear you.” The woman stated to the creature.”What?” It was only after Odd paused at her words and looked closely that he realized just what the woman must be talking to. She wore on her back a coat that appeared to be made of Liepard fur. More disturbing was the Furret stole draped over her shoulders. As the young man circled this woman, he gained a better perspective on what she was holding. It looked like a Pokemon he was rather familiar with. Or rather, one that he had become familiar with some time ago. It was a Skitty. Or at least the colorless shape the shade was petting looked like one.
“What is wrong with her?” He demanded of Cadenza, referring to her words. “Is she really wearing a Pokemon?!”
“It would seem that way. “
“Poor little, kitty. You're still so very young and your fur hasn't even begun to shine properly yet.” The old woman stated as she held a small item in front of it's mouth. A bright blue cube Odd had once been fond of making as a pass-time.
“A Blue Pokeblock? Is she really trying to preen that Pokemon for beauty just so she can slaughter it later?! That's repulsive!” The channeler declared, rushing away from her and dropping to his knees as his stomach began to heave.
“Calm yourself, Odd. She's been dead for many years. This is her reward for a life lived only for her own desires.” Cadenza said, watching closely as a Yamask drifted over to the woman and the shade in her lap, tears streaming from it's crimson eyes as it looked at the Skitty in her lap.
“Maaaaask!” It moaned out, the pain in it's voice evident. When Odd finally stopped spilling the contents of his stomach on the ground, he looked over his shoulder and the woman petting the Skitty-Shade was accompanied by another woman. It appeared to be the same one, though she was older than the version of herself on the ground. She wore a coat which was definitely made of Delcatty. It held a luster to it unparalleled, certainly, but the look on it's wearer's face was of utmost loss, longing and regret. She pulled at the coat endlessly as she looked down at her younger self, though the coat refused to release her in spite of her rage and disgust. Odd began to understand what he was seeing only just in time to come back to himself.
“Night Slash!” Cadenza's halo blazed to life with dark energy at Odd's cry, a crescent blade of it bursting outwards and striking Yamask only a fraction of a second before it's mask was placed onto Odd's face.
“You are here, trapped in this moment for eternity for what you did.” Odd spoke as he staggered to his feet, looking to the shade of the woman as he took the mask that hovered before him in hand and looked into the back side of it. “You were so consumed by what you wanted that you failed to realize what you had formed until it was too late.” He told her, kneeling down in front of her. Knowing that there was nothing he could do save give her some form of solace, he did the only thing he could. “You forged a bond with that Pokemon before you selfishly took it's life. All I can say is that if you are lucky, it will forgive you and perhaps some day, when you have repented and repaid the debt you owe to it here, you might be freed of this hell and the two of you may reunite in another life.”
With those words, Odd stood up and walked out of the tree's roots, heedless of the rain, dropping the mask in his hand in the mud once the rain hit him.. “Odd! Please! Don't stay out under this for too long.” Cadenza urged as he followed.
“I have to. I can't do that again. I came too close to complete and utter failure back there. In more than one way.” Odd replied, attempting to forge his energy into a sort of canopy to try and protect himself a bit from the rain. Surprisingly for him, an umbrella formed in his hand at the attempt and he gratefully held it up and opened it.
“What do you mean?” Cadenza asked as he followed Odd's steps.
“I nearly let myself down. I nearly let you down. I nearly lost everything when I let my guard down back there.” Odd explained, wondering briefly where this umbrella had actually come from.
“You didn't let me down. You proved your humanity. You proved your worth as someone who is pure of heart and one who has a cause greater than themself. Also, the umbrella is what happens when you create an illusion here. It becomes reality. The energy of this world is so rich that illusions become solid matter for as long as you are able to maintain it.” The Shedinja replied, catching Odd's absentminded thoughts aside while attempting to assure him of his self-worth.
“That may prove useful later.....” Odd thought aloud as he tested this theory. Rather than trying to change himself by illusion, he created extensions of himself -illusions separate from his own body- A baseball, a bat, a knife, a sword. He even went as far as to summon up an illusory Pokemon at his side: a copy of Cadenza. “Well, then...This could prove very useful later on....” He told himself as he banished the various illusions back to the aether, their energy being better used when the need truly arose for it. “Wait.....Did the rain stop?”
“I don't think so.....” Cadenza replied, looking around at the swamp, which had raised up to met them, water-first.
“Why don't I hear it anymore, then?” Odd asked, glancing up from his hands and stopping for the first time in the last half hour. “We've been walking a straight line since the last time we hid under one of those trees, right?”
“Of course. I've been keeping us going towards the center of the swamp as best I can.” Cadenza replied.
“Alright. Then the likelihood is that we've reached the swamp-proper. We were on the outskirts before.” Odd pointed out as he let his umbrella construct fade away, looking around as he did. He determined his assessment to be true when it became clear that there was very little, if any, solid ground above the water now. He'd only just noticed that he was wading in knee-deep water, which explained why the sound of rain had disappeared. It was no longer the sound of water meeting the ground but of water meeting water that he heard all around him. The rain now, at least, was not so very cold and piercing. The not-quite cold swamp water did not chill him to the core, making it easy for him to have failed to notice the transition into it while he had been so single-mindedly focused on testing out Cadenza's statement about illusions being solid matter when created here.
“We should be more mindful here. There are greater threats in this swamp than anything that could have been thrown at us from the wastes.” Cadenza warned, floating above the water and leading Odd rather than the other way around.
“Something's close!” The channeler urged, the sound of shifting water barely audible above the endless dripping of the swamp rain.
“Be careful! Creatures dwell here which are starved for Thul's pleasure. If they get the chance, they will gladly drain your life away!” The Shedinja warned as he expanded his senses outward. Nothing tripped his senses right away but he could tell, simply by the eerie silence of the swamp that something must be nearby.
“Something touched me!” Odd exclaimed, spinning around and attempting to kick at whatever had made contact with his leg beneath the water. He came into contact with nothing, however.
“I told you.” Cadenza warned. “Now may be the time to start using those constructs.”
“Not yet. We need to get closer to the heart of the swamp.” Odd responded as he looked around. A small blue bubble rested on the surface a few yards away but when he realized he'd seen it and looked back, it was gone. Turning the other direction, a pink object floated in the mud almost too far away to see at all. As he watched it, having identified the object quickly enough to not lose it entirely like that one, it sank under the swamp water and vanished. “I need to conserve as much energy as I can for the battle with Thul. Otherwise I'm not likely to get out of here alive.”
“Wise words but perhaps not the most survivalist just now.” Cadenza replied, firing a Shadow Ball in the swamp water just ahead of him. “Oh now I've done it haven't I?” He wondered aloud when the orb disappeared beneath the water's surface. A black flash of darkness went off under the water and suddenly but his and Odd's senses flared with life all around them.
“Oh yeah!” Odd shouted he was forced to defend himself. Conjuring a shield in one hand and a spear in the other, he began to defend himself as best he could.
“Frriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllllllllll!” A cacophony of cries echoed throughout the swamp, dozens of malnourished Frillish erupting from the water and rushing towards the duo of channeler and partner without hesitation.
Cadenza managed to resist their soul-sucking ways for the most part. His combination of typing and ability resisted their Absorb and Pain Split based attempts at draining his spiritual energy but Odd was not so lucky. He blocked their tentacles with his conjured shield but the beasts still absorbed his energy through it since it was forged from the same wavelength. Swinging his spear with all his strength, he pushed the Ghost-types back a bit but no matter how many times they back away from his swings, they converged on his once again immediately afterwards.
“Odd, take my energy for the shield!” Cadenza urged, his halo removing itself from his head and attaching to Odd's conjured shield. Now imbued with the Shedinja's energy, Odd felt the effects of his attackers' draining attempts beginning to fail. Backing away slowly, he tried to keep Cadenza safe as well. Without his halo, he was nearly unprotected except with his Shadow Ball.
“Hold tight, Odd!” The Shedinja exclaimed, a ring of silver light surrounding them as a Silver Wind was whipped up. The Frillish caught inside faltered for a moment, the light frightening them momentarily. And in that moment, Cadenza swooped down upon Odd, absorbed him into his own soul and vanished into nothingness.
The Frillish all looked around at once, trying to find their life-filled prey. All any of them could find was the light of the Silver Wind fading as the glittering dust that formed it vanished into the water and so, defeated and still mostly starving, they dispersed back into the swamp, themselves.
Appearing in a blast of spiritual power, nearly a mile away, Cadenza and Odd reappeared from the aether, Cadenza's Pantom Force having pushed both to their limits in order to carry the both of them this far in a single go. “That was close.......Let's not ever do that again.” Odd gasped out as he leaned against a small tree, gasping for breath. He spoke of the Phantom Force rather than being swarmed by the soul vampires that were their Frillish foes before, though he was too exhausted now to care if Cadenza knew that or if he thought the words were spoken in regards to being swarmed in the first place.
“Grahahahaa!”
“Oh lordy, not now!”
“You are amusing, tiny human!”
“Not him! Please not him!”
“I have not seen a human survive such an attempt in all my life.”
“I said, please don't let this be him!” Odd begged of Cadenza, who remained silent.
The water swelled before the channeler, rising up in a great bubble as the mud ran down beneath it in a thick cascade. The water and mud slowly dripping away revealed beneath them to be a mighty beast, tangled up in reeds and roots alike. “You have followed the fog of blindness, death and hope and found your way to my lair. An unlikely feat in itself, you have escaped my starving children.” Thul spoke, his unseen mouth causing the deep green flesh of his bulbous head to shift and jiggle in a strangely amusing yet terrifying way. “All of this you have achieved not even in a straightforward way. You have fled from death in order to face it once more and yet you survived what should have killed you faster than my children feasting on your soul.” Thul laughed once more, his gelatinous form giving that terrifying, amusing jiggle once again. “I must admit more than amusement. I am curious, tiny human. Can you, perhaps, escape me?”
“Oh no.....Please don't....” Odd knew he didn't have the strength to fight Thul head on. His energy was nearly gone at this point.
“We may not escape, but we will certainly hold our own for as long as we can.” Cadenza spoke his energy restored already.
“How?” Odd asked, bewildered by this.
“I absorb energy from all around me at all times, remember?” Cadenza pointed out. “The void in my back is for more than decoration. Now take this and fight!” The Pokemon's halo, having returned to him in the escape from before, floated over to Odd and it's radiance filled him with life. “My halo is linked with me. It's light should provide you with enough energy to fight back.”
“Thank you, Cadenza! Let's get out of here alive and I'll thank you properly later.” The young channeler asserted as he jumped to his feet, staggering for only a moment before regaining stability. Cadenza was right. He had the energy to fight back no, but he was still physically weakened. He would need to be careful.
“Grahahahahaaa! Try your very best, tiny human. I wish to be entertained for quite some time.” Thul roared out, tentacles erupting from the water all around him.
“Run!” Odd shouted as he began to circle Thul's swampy den. Cadenza ran the opposite direction, or rather, levitated in it. Odd knew he would never escape if he were stuck in the water, so he summoned a walkway with his illusions, the energy of this world solidifying the planks and allowing him to truly run on them. Thul attempted to cut the channeler off, tentacles on either side of him, crashing through the boardwalk Odd had created for himself. Attempting to evade the tentacle pincer attack, he conjured a staircase and ran up it, a javelin appearing in either hand as he poured energy into them. Hurling the illusory projectiles at Thul' tentacles, he was not surprised to find them knocked away with ease by others.
“Damn. I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Time to try something else!” Diving into the swamp below seconds before his staircase was shattered, he divided into three, two of himself illusions created solely to distract Thul for a moment so he could figure out somewhere to hide in plain sight. When he hit the water, he swam to the east, sensing Cadenza there, while his clones swam south and west. The south-swimming clone was first to go. Thul caught it in a crushing grip and sucked every ounce of energy that held it's form together out of it in less than a second.
Unfortunately for Odd, the first clone's demise left a tangible dent in his energy. He'd poured enough into each that Thul would not be able to tell them apart at first. Sadly for him, it had also left a weak mental link between them and when the illusory clone perished, Odd felt the pain and screamed, buckling beneath the water. This action he would regret within seconds, Thul's tentacles converging upon him rapidly. Climbing out of the water at the first chance he could find, which was nowhere near as soon as he would have liked, he found a very small patch of solid ground and stood upon it, summoning up a new illusion. This time, however, he disguised himself as one of the swamp trees. His remaining clone would have to distract Thul for long enough to conceive a new plan of action.
The channeler found himself thankful not long after hiding within his new illusion for the idea to duplicate himself before. His remaining double appeared to have gotten the Great Worm's attention since the seething mass of tentacles searching the waters around him halted after a while, the water turning still for the moment. It was only a moment, however, before the swamp began to churn more violently than ever. Strangely, the tentacles which made up the boiling pot that was the swamp did not entirely disperse. Something must still have their attention here.
Cadenza, where are you? Please tell me you're still alive?!
I'm well, Odd. I can see you, actually.
How? We went opposite directions.
I've been keeping my senses tuned to you. I made my way after you as soon as Thul looked away.
Odd heaved an inward breath of immense relief at this point. His partner was alive and well.
Where do you think you got the duplication trick from? I shared the idea of my Double Team with you. Cadenza's voice rang in his soul.
I was wondering about that. How in the world did that even work?
Remember I lent you my halo? My energy and yours fused together when you did that. This is the power of our bond when used properly.
I like it. Too bad we can't do this all the time.
We will be able to when you fully master your power.
That's good, then. But what do we do now?
The pair could both see that Thul had not left them alone. Wherever Cadenza was, Odd knew he would see this same as him if he could be seen.
I have an idea but we will only have a few seconds for it to work, at best. Cadenza returned after a moment of silent contemplation. Sharing his plan with Odd. The channeler nodded silently after a moment, his illusion fading when he did.
“Here I am, you idiot!” He declared as he conjured up a bow and arrow, firing a single arrow at the tentacles he could see writhing amongst themselves below the swamp's surface. One arose from the water, followed by another, then another. Several more followed them until about half a dozen of Thul's tentacles rested before Odd, staring him down. “Well, what are you waiting for?” He demanded of the collective, waving his arms around as if to signal them to do something.
They twitched and wriggled a bit now and then but otherwise remained unmoving. Odd felt a twinge at the edge of his senses before an incredible pain wracked his soul for a moment. His other double must have been found and done in at last. “Well!” He screamed after a moment of struggling to contain a scream of pain. “Do something!” At this point, they seemed to listen, lunging for him all at once, in a sort of spearhead shape. Holding his head up high and refusing to flinch or cower, the channeler kept his energy at arm's length. The tentacles were nearly there when suddenly, a blue glow caught them and they slowed. The very tip of the spearhead they had formed contacted the channeler's chest and his soul heaved, seemingly convulsing within him for a brief second before he reacted, taking the fractional second before his spirit was ripped apart to conjure a sword. Cadenza's energy flared within it, sharpening the blade with dark energy and Odd jumped as high into the air as possible, bringing the Night Slash-imbued construct down upon the spearhead before him.
In that moment when the sword met flesh, a shriek unlike anything heard in this world or any other rocked the circle of Gluttony and all that dwelt within that were not punished rejoiced. For the death of the king, many would grieve but for the king who so willingly subjugates his people through wrath and rancor for pleasure alone, his defeat, if only temporary, is cause enough for great joy and celebration.
Breathing deeply as he tried to mend his wounded soul, Odd stared at the deep green chunk of slimy flesh that lay on the ground at his feet. The very tip of the tentacle which led the spearhead charge at him before had been severed but not without great strength and at even greater risk. Had he waited even a second longer, he would have been a goner for certain. Picking up the piece of tentacle, it clearly still living since it tried to escape at his touch, he shivered at the very thought of what he was about to do. “I suppose it's rather like eating bugs, eh?” He asked of Cadenza, holding it up over his head and looking up at it. “Just get it past the taste buds and it's a simple task.” He assured himself. Letting go of the thing, he felt it make contact with the back of his throat and swallowed.
It wriggled and fought and tried to crawl back out but after several more attempts at swallowing the thing down, it finally stayed and the young man collapsed onto the ground, his body shaking. “That was the most disgusting thing I've ever done! It tasted like burnt garbage mixed into an old tire smoothie with a bat dung brownie to follow it down.....” He gagged once again. “And worse than that.....It felt like a still-living Goomy trying to get back out.”
“Which bat's dung, might I ask?” Cadenza wondered aloud, the barest trace of a laugh on the fringes of his words.
“All of them, actually.” Odd replied before he froze. There was something happening. He could feel it.Thul's tentacle was beginning to break down within him and as it did, he could feel the damage to his spirit being repaired. This was a surprisingly good feeling. He had expected this to be much like what had happened when he first acquired the Killing Stone and that he would be subjected to the worst pain of his young life once again.
“Long live the king!”
“What do you want, Vorace?!” Odd demanded as the Mismagius hybrid appeared again to play with his mind.
“Well, well. Who knew the little mortal would survive?” Vorace said as she floated around him. “I had hoped the King would kill you, absorb your power and let me rule by his side when I told him the gift had been mine.” She explained as she floated backwards. “But since he's failed to kill you -the way he likes to play his games, I'm not surprised- I'll have to do it myself and present your body to him.”
“You're not going to beat me, Vorace.”
“And just why might that be? What could you possibly have that can let you fight back against me? One little insect ghost whose only real talent is not dieing in the World Above?” Vorace demanded to know as she knelt down, grabbing the collar of Odd's coat and hauling him up to her eye level. “You. Have. Nothing!” She growled in her seductive voice.
“Wrong.” Odd replied with a grin. “Thul's power is mine now. I can feel it growing in strength already. I just need to feed the power so it can truly blossom.” He reached forward at that and grabbed hold of Vorace's face with his open hand, thin tendrils of energy fanning out from his touch as he began to absorb her life force.
“Oh, yeah! That's the stuff, baby!” He shouted as the ecstatic feeling of another's life energy flowing into him overwhelmed his soul. It was only just a fraction of a second, it felt like but in reality, he had been holding on for several long minutes when he finally managed to break free of the woman's flesh, through sheer willpower. “Wow....that's a rush.” He admitted before kicking Vorace away from himself.
Standing before her with her own energy flowing through him, he glared at her for a moment, eyes fogged over. “You weren't always here. You were human, once, too.” He said to her, confusion evident in his voice. His mind was awash with memories not his own but clearly of a place he was so very familiar with.
~ A young woman, maybe 16 or 17, stood in the great hall of an immense church. No, an abbey. “Sister Eva, you are such a sweet and kind young woman but you have broken a sacred law. You know that we here do no mingle with men for good reason and now you are with child. You must leave this place. When your child is born, if you so choose to leave it behind and return to us, seek us out then.”~
“You know Sister Mary Abigale.” Odd spoke, a hand to his head. “How do you know of he abbey?”
~”Sister Eva, you return to us?” The nun who answered Eva's knock asked, her auburn hair pulled back tightly as she opened the door to the cold. “No.” Eva responded, her voice clear from beneath the hood which hid her face. “I bring my child to you with but one request. Raise him as you did me.” The young woman said, crimson eyes showing from beneath her hood as she handed the baby in her arms to the nun. “Remember his name well. It is Sterling Grey. And remind him always that his mother loves him.” She said before giving the tiny bundle a kiss on the forehead after brushing his black and crimson locks aside, turning away from the abbey, leaping into the air and floating away into the snow.~
“Wait....You left a child name Sterling Grey at an abbey on a snowy mountaintop?” He asked after a moment longer. “Eva? Your name is Eva Grey, isn't it! Not Vorace?”
“How you know these things of me, I do not know but I will say that I abandoned that name long ago and as for the child I left behind. I can only hope he has made a better life for himself than I could have given him.” Vorace replied, answer and sadness in her voice. “This is not a matter I wish to discuss. And beyond that, I refuse to discuss it with you!” With her final rage-filled scream, she disappeared into the swamp again.
“Odd, we should leave before Thul comes back. He won't be happy about this in the slightest.”
Odd nodded, watching the spot where Vorace had disappeared to. “You're right. Can you open the gate here?”
“Not alone.”Cadenza replied, floating beside Odd.
“Then let's do it together. Tell me what do to.”
Odd followed Cadenza's instruction and together the two summoned the gate home. Cadenza went through First with Odd on his heels. Before he went through, Odd looked back to were Vorace had vanished once again. “I wish I could still say I loved you too, mom. But if this is what's happened to you......You've gotten what you deserved, clearly.” With that, he walked into the light issuing from the gate once more and felt life returning to him fully as it faded.
What happened back there? The voice in his soul reminded him that in the World Above, Cadenza could not speak vocally. Vorace. What was that last exchange about.
Odd looked to Cadenza and looked skyward for a moment after, wondering how best to say it. “I believe that at one time in my past, she was a woman I could have called mother. When I took her energy, I seem to have gained some memories as well and I believe that she was at the same Abbey I was the day I was left there. And she left me. With the nuns, I mean.” He explained, his voice filled with sadness.
I see. I often dream of my own parents, Odd. And of my twin. My living half, perhaps. Cadenza replied. Memories are a tricky thing to understand, I think. Sometimes it is best to take them for what they are and others.....It is best to forget them and allow the mind to fill in the blanks for you. The Shedinja provided, dispensing his sagely advice as best he could.
“Maybe you're right. Maybe not.” Odd responded, looking around the central garden of the ancient school he had been training at. “And maybe, if you are right, it's time I found somewhere else to train, away from the Otherworld for just a little while. Perhaps not for long but maybe just long enough to put this journey's memory to rest before I go back to it later.” He thought aloud, holding up the Killing Stone he'd had in hi pocket. In a way, he hoped it would take a while for Amaya to have his next training mission prepared and in another, he almost hoped to get the next right away and jump into something else that would keep his mind busy long enough for this memory to become lost or faded into the background.
Mission Complete! Mission Report: - Found my way into the Otherworld once again from the peak of Mt. Pyre. - Wandered in the Wastelands of Regret for a while and encountered one of shades held there. - Escaped into The Swamp where I was swarmed by Frillish. - Escaped the Frillish by a miracle that I doubt will work again any time soon. - Encountered Thul and managed to take a piece of it's tentacle thanks to Cadenza and the unique properties of the Otherworld's illusory constructs. - Left the Otherworld only after discovering a piece of information that will likely haunt me for quite some time.
Congratulations on making it this far, you are now at the halfway mark in your training. Your next task will be just as difficult as the previous ones, if not more. This next one will test your physical endurance, along with your mental. As you have found out already, Varuna is a hard teacher, and he isn't letting up any time soon. It's time to dive deep within, and summon forth your inner tidal wave, and let it wash away the obstacles before you.
As a Water Master to-be, you must learn to traverse submerged, underneath the waves you wish to control, and this training will prepare you to tame the vicious ocean, as you use it as a method of travel. For hybrids, you can naturally breath underwater, but that doesn't mean traveling deep underwater will come naturally to you. For channelers, unlike hybrids you can not breath underwater, and must learn to manipulate the water around you to keep a supply of oxygen while submerged. Both hybrids and channelers have much to learn about underwater transport, so let's begin, shall we?
Travel to Undella Bay in the Unova region, and summon forth your master, Varuna. He will give you your next task which will involve you diving deep under the water, without the assistance of a Pokemon. You will be tasked with exploring the underwater Abyssal Ruins, the remains of a great civilization, long since perished. Varuna's task is simple, travel through the ruins on your own and retrieve the Relic Crown located deep within the ruins. Simple, right? Well you are wrong, this will be your hardest task yet.
The Abyssal Ruins are a strange mysterious place, the ruins are one giant maze themselves, seemingly alive as it would appear the paths shift, causing treasure hunters to lose their way, and eventually give up their search for the ruin's crown jewel. Not only are the ruins a difficult maze, but powerful Pokemon have made the ruins their home. Oddly enough, one powerful Pokemon has suddenly appeared in the ruins, a large Omastar, an ancient Pokemon who seems unique from Omastar in the history books, as this one has a shell made of pearl, making its hide nearly indestructable. Odd isn't it? You will be facing another pearl-shelled Water Pokemon on one of your tasks given to you by Varuna, plus how does Varuna know the Relic Crown is there for sure, oh well, don't think too hard about it.
So let's review, you must travel through the Abyssal Ruins on your own, no help from your Pokemon (Except Channelers, you may take with you your Channeling partner), which will surely test your physical and mental endurance. And while staying underwater on your own for that long will be tasking, you must also brave the wild Pokemon of the ruins, and the maze the ruins presents. Not only that, but a super ancient giant Pearl-Shelled Omastar will be patroling the ruins, and certainly won't like seeing you there, it's best to avoid this creature at all costs, you can't win against it. I wish you the best of luck.
Objective: ---Travel through the underwater maze that is Abyssal Ruins, and find the Relic Crown that rests at its center. ---Survive the assault of wild Water Pokemon and the fierce larger than average, Pearl-Shelled Omastar.
Opposition: ---Wild Water Pokemon including, Octillery, Cloyster, Mantine, Jellicent, Sharpedo, Lumineon, and Alomomola. ---The giant Pearl-Shelled Omastar, do not try to fight it, it will surely spell doom.
Pokemon: ---You may capture one wild Water Pokemon, but not the Omastar.
Rewards: ---For hybrids, the experience earned by traversing the maze and surviving the physical strain of being underwater for so long may be enough to learn a new move. ---For channelers, perhaps having to bend the water around you for so long will gift you will a new channeling ability.
(Channeler rewards only below)
The Coral Gourd (Stage 4) [Holds about three gallons of water, medium.]
Water Jet: [The ability to condense and quickly fire off a stream of water at a target. The more chi one puts in the attack, the more condense, and deadly it becomes.]
Lykas stood on the shore of Undella Town. He'd felt an urge to come to the beach and, for some strange reason, this was the only seaside town that he had any desire to see. He wasn't sure why but he felt as if the sea was calling out to him from here. Drawing out the Azure Bell, he released Nuregami. “Rain Dance, if you please.” He requested of the white Milotic. Nuregami nodded and released a pulse of light into the sky. The clouds gathered overhead and a gentle rain began to fall. As the summoned rain fell around him, Lykas rang the Azure Bell. At first, there was nothing but the sound of deep blue crystal striking against itself.
“Come! The sea awaits you.” Varuna's voice rang out. Though the water remained calm, the hybrid stood before him when Lykas turned around. His ship was no where to be seen but still, Lykas knew not to question Varuna. “You may not have fully mastered the method but you have ingenuity. It is essential for one to be flexible and adaptable. To be fluid like the water and to find new ways when the path is blocked is the very essence of water. This is a lesson you have learned early and have continued to demonstrate.” Varuna spoke as he walked onto the shore. “Now you must truly put this knowledge to use. You will be tested here in more ways than one.”
“What am I supposed to be doing here?” Lykas asked after a moment of contemplating the Master's words.
“You will be sent down into an ancient ruin here in the bay. Most of the people of this region have forgotten it's existence but it holds great treasures, one of which I require you to retrieve for me.” Varuna explained, looking out over the sea as he spoke. Glancing over his shoulder at the young hybrid, he continued. “The item in question is a crown. Not just any but the Relic Crown. The very crown once worn by the ancient kings of my people so many centuries ago. “
“And how do you know that it's still there?” Lykas demanded to know, for once not caring what Varuna thought of him for questioning him.
“Because I placed it in those ruins, myself, centuries ago. When I was an acolyte to the king before me.” Varuna replied. “And those ruins are protected by a force no man aside from myself could ever even hope to overcome. A giant Omastar has taken up residence inside the ruins and it's shell has absorbed nutrients from the unique food there for many years, turning into a pearl armor.” He continued, turning to face Lykas fully at this point.
“And It's likely to be unbeatable, right?” Lykas questioned, remembering the Cloyster with the pearl shell from his first mission, when he had become a hybrid.
“Quite unbeatable.” Varuna confirmed. “It bears tremendous strength and it's pearl shell can deflect nearly any attack.”
“Guess I'll just have to be invisible, won't I?” Lykas asked before trodding off into the water.
“Lykas! Leave your Pokemon with me.” Varuna called, hand outstretched.
“Excuse me?! Since when did I have to leave my Pokemon behind?” Lykas demanded to know, beginning to wonder just how much Varuna actually wanted him to live through these training exercises.
“Normally I would expect you to simply keep your word about doing your training alone but this one is different. You must remain in complete solitude in order to succeed. If anyone or anything were to compromise your stealth with that Omastar nearby, you would be killed before you could even attempt to escape.” Varuna replied calmly, a water whip retrieving the other hybrid's Pokeballs.
“Fine. But don't you dare let anything happen to them.” Lykas replied with a cold stare.
“Fiercely loyal to your Pokemon and with a heart as strong as a typhoon.” Varuna observed, holding Lykas' Pokeballs in a watery orb in his hand, keeping them all floating together. “Very good to see such dedication to one's Pokemon in spite of personal strength. I will guard them with every ounce of my being. Worry not my pupil.” He returned, watching as Lykas slolwly turned back around and ventured into the water. Diving in, headfirst, the hybrid began to swim out into the bay.
“You'll find the ruins at the center of the bay with an entrance on the southern side, I believe. “ Varuna called after his student just before he was out of earshot. “Now then....Let's all go enjoy a nice meal together while your master does his training.” He said kindly to the Pokeballs he had retrieved, walking off into town. He had learned not-too-long-ago that the people of this town were far kinder to strangers than others. Perhaps it was because so few actually lived here? Regardless, he would enjoy the hospitality of the vacationers while caring for his pupil's Pokemon in his absence.
While Varuna fed his Pokemon a wonderful lunch, Lykas was busy swimming, pressing on into the bay without rest. Hand over hand and kick after kick, he propelled himself through the water. Having decided to conserve his strength for the ruins, his ponytail tentacles were all drawn together into their single entity form and trailed behind him in the ocean currents, acting like normal hair for a change.
“Hey! You're a hybrid, right?! Wanna battle?” Someone asked as he passed them by. Waving them off with a tentacle, he shook his head as best he could without stopping to rest. “No. I don't have any of my Pokemon on me today.” He replied.
“But you're a hybrid.....You could battle my team, right?” The other swimmer asked, bewildered.
“I could but I don't want to. I'm doing some special training today and I'm not in the mood.” Lykas responded, pressing onward in an attempt to ignore the other person who was beginning to grate on his nerves.
“Aww....Not even one of them?” The swimmer pleaded as cutely as possible.
“Fine! One Pokemon. Then I'm leaving.” Lykas finally conceded, finding a reef to stand on nearby if only just long enough for this person to let out a Pokemon to battle him.
“Sweet! Let's go Omanyte!” The swimmer declared as he released the ancient Spiral Pokemon. Lykas might not have been too surprised by this, given recent leaps in technology regarding fossils except for one fact. This Omanyte had a pearlescent sheen to it's normal-colored shell. “Cool, isn't it?” His opponent asked. “I caught it here in the bay not too long ago and it's got that cool-looking pearl shell.”
“That's....interesting....” Lykas noted aloud before he looked directly at the Pokemon, itself. “You're a child of the Omastar down below, aren't you?” He asked it quietly.
“Om omma omanyte nyte manyte.” The Spiral Pokemon replied with a small amount of gurgling involved.
“Thought so.” Lykas said as he dove into the water.
“Omanyte, Reflect Type. Let's match his abilities with our own.” The swimmer called to his partner. The Omanyte nodded it's body glowed briefly, taking on a type very much like Lykas' own.
“Bad call.” Lykas scolded as he burst out of the water, forehead gem aglow as he unleashed a Hex upon his foe. The Omanyte, which had mimicked Lykas' Ghost-type, cringed and buckled under the pressure the spiritual assault applied to it's mind.
“Alright, fine. Omanyte, use Rock Blast!” Swimmer Boy called to his Pokemon. Omanyte, hearing the call over the waves, agreed with this much more than the last order it had been given and formed a large-ish orb of stony energy in front of it, firing it at Lykas in increasingly larger chunks.
“Not too bad....” Lykas decided as he deftly dodged the blows with the aid of his hairtentacles. Once he had a clear shot, he unleashed another Hex. Omanyte buckled under the mental pressure applied by the spiritual attack once again but did not yet cave.
“Hmph. Cheater!” Swimmer Boy shouted before looking down to his weary Omanyte. “Shell Smash, then Gyro Ball.” He ordered his partner, heedless of the fact that by increasing Omanyte's speed, he was cutting it's ability to deal damage with the chosen mode of offense. In spite of knowing it would be less effective, Omanyte did as it was bade, launching itself in a bright crimson ball of spinning doom and spikes towards Lykas.
“Who's cheating?” Lykas asked before launching a Water Spout at Omanyte, kicking it up into the air and then blasting it sky high with the pressurized geyser produced by his forehead jewel.
Omanyte vanished into the sky with the attack and when it returned, it came crashing down into the reef like a blazing meteor. With the Spiral Pokemon's demise in battle, Lykas looked to it's trainer and gave a curt not. “Give that Pokemon plenty of love and proper training and you'll have one ~/~ of a good fighter.” He assured before turning back to the sea and diving back in.
“How did he manage to do that?!”
“That's our big brother's determination, Taryn.” Myrn replied, watching from a reef just out of sight of Lykas' battle.
Taryn sat beside her, wondering exactly what Lykas would be capable of when he had reached the end of his training. “He seems strong enough to meet Mother now, though.”
“He is I think. But Mother won't meet with him unless he proves he has inherited her special power. None of us have it so it must be him.”
“How can you still be so sure?” Taryn wanted to know, eyes locked on Myrn's.
“Because Mother said she had only one child she could sense with the power within them and he is the only one who has not yet come into his full potential!” Myrn replied as she slipped back into the water, following after their brother at a distance, with a leisurely pace.
“Fine but I hope you're right.” Taryn muttered as he followed his sister.
The two followed lazily along as Lykas progressed to the center of the bay. He wasn't going very fast, nor was he apparently going to make it easy, diving under the water and swimming that way for a while and then surfacing and swimming along the top of the ocean for a bit. “Will you decide when you're done goofing off, already?” Myrn demanded quietly, not wanting Lykas to hear her voice.
“Looks like I'm about in the right spot, I think......” Lykas finally said to himself as he swam in a long circle, looking down into the water a few times as he did. After a minute or two more of swimming the same long circle, he dove under and never came back up.
“Looks like it's starting.....” Taryn grunted as he flipped downward, breaching the water's surface in order to follow big brother.
Myrn followed and, once beneath the surface, she grabbed Taryn's arm. “Remember that we're not supposed to interfere. We watch and wait until he shows signs of mother's power.” She said, able to be understood by her younger sibling only because he had the same ability as she. Being hybrids, themselves, allowed them both to speak normally underwater.
“Fine. But I'm not letting him die.” Taryn responded as he swam after their hybrid sibling.
“Fair enough.” Myrn decided, staying close to Taryn as they followed their brother.
Lykas dove down below the waves and pressed and deep as he could go in a single forceful plunge, stopping there to let his body adjust to the pressure. After several long minutes of silence, the hybrid pressed downwards once more. The pressure grew stronger still as he dropped closer to the bottom of this bay. He felt like some accused plumber diving down to his doom in a polluted sea he was forced to clean.
“This is ridiculous.....” He said to himself after a few more minutes of adjusting to even greater pressure now that he had reached the seafloor. “How in the world does Varuna expect me to stay down here long enough to find that crown?” He wondered before plunging into the ruins themselves. His first trip in was completely fruitless. He was inside for no more than five minutes, taking a left, then another left followed by four rights and then he was right back where he'd started at outside. “How the ~/~ did I manage to do that?!” He demanded of himself, spinning around in the water and pressing back inwards.
This time, he kept a better mental image of where he'd been and where he was going. Taking his first few turns, he found himself at a crossroads that seemed familiar to him. “I think I went right, last time since I was coming from that direction.....” He said, pointing to the left from his current facing. “So I'll go straight across here...” He decided, swimming across the hallway and on into the next one.
It took a little while longer this time around but he still managed to find himself back where he'd started. “I'm going to need something to mark my path with...... A breadcrumb trail, so to speak.....” He decided after a while. “I'm a Water Pokemon hybrid....I should be able to do something......Water-y to help with this....” He told himself, floating outside these oh-so-confusing ruins. It took him a few minutes of thinking and of watching local Pokemon before a thought came to mind. “I can learn an attack that could be useful here.....” He remembered, holding a hand in front of himself.
“Now how do I use it?” He pondered. He tried conjuring a flame in his open palm but found nothing happened at that. Right. You're underwater, genius. Fire won't do jack. He thought to himself. “Oh, but what if I-” Focusing on boiling water instead of a flame, he got spark. A softly glowing patch of rapidly bubbling water formed around his hand and the young hybrid cheered inwardly. “This has got to be the best thing ever. I actually did what I wanted to without screwing it up for once.....” He told himself, the watery Will-o-Wisp very evidently his own handiwork. “Now I just have to see how long it lasts.”
Floating languidly in the warm sea, Lykas waited out the time limit for his Wisp without a goal. Thirty or forty-five minutes later, the wisp finally fizzled out and Lykas smirked. That would more than do. “Looks like I've found my breadcrumbs. Now I just have to practice laying a trail of them.” He said to himself as he entered the maze-like ruins for the third time. Now he began to practice and to make sense of this strange dungeon-like ruin. At each turn, he laid down a wisp to mark the way he'd gone. Left, right, right, straight on, left, straight on, right, left, left, straight on, left, right, staircase! “Finally!” The first floor done, Lykas ascended the stairs to a higher level.
“Staaaaaaar!”
“That doesn't sound good at all.” Lykas determined as he reached the second floor of the ruins. Already, this place seemed like it didn't want him here. Was it possible for a location to not want a person in it? Or was it, perhaps, what Blizzard called “Instincts”? Could he somehow sense Omastar's desire to protect the ruins from invaders? Rather than continuing to dwell on it, he pressed onward.
Swimming through these ancient hallways flooded by the rising seawaters, he could understand why a creature which was once charged by an ancient king to protect this place would be so eager to do it's job well. The architecture in this place was incredible. Great stone pillars dotted the halls, decorated from top to bottom with immaculate carvings of eras gone by. Kings adorned by crowns of splendor stood surrounded by knights clad in shining armor, each with a dazzling stone embedded in it's chest(where he could see the chest, at least).
“They look like trainers....” He noted, six small orbs ringing the waists of the knights clearly visible yet only after much scrutiny.
“Ommmmaaaaaa!”
“I should get back to figuring out where I'm going.” Lykas reminded himself, returning to the task of exploring these halls as quickly as he could. Coming to the first intersection after a right turn, he decided he'd head straight through it and marked the path he took with a watery Will-o-Wisp bubbling away in place. Pushing himself through the water, Lykas was able to make his way further down the corridor and up to a pillar which blocked his path. “Huh.....Dead end.....” He noted, turning around and going back the way he'd come from. When he reached the intersection from before, he marked the current path with a second wisp next to the first, a way of saying that he'd gone down and come back out this same path. Taking the only other direction available, he headed to the east(his first path had taken him north).
“Staaaaaaaar!”
“This is just wonderful......” The hybrid said to himself, his words dripping with sarcasm. “It's getting closer.” Swimming down he path he'd chosen, he laid down another Wisp when he arrived at an intersection. This one had four paths to choose from, including the way he'd come in. Taking a long moment to consider his options, he decided he'd try something. Focusing on dialing back the power on it, he looked down the long hallway ahead of him and fired a black arrow of energy down the corridor. He could feel the energy he'd poured into the attack waning and fast, leaving him with the last few crackling sparks of a Pain Split that had no fuel. He had figured he might be able to direct the beam through the halls but this was not going to be that easy.
With his failure behind him he continued following the East-facing corridor he was in, marking the way with a Wisp as he entered it from the intersection, figuring he may as well just figure it out as he went. That seemed like the only thing that was going to work at this point. Swimming down the watery hall, he found himself suddenly having trouble breathing. He'd never been underwater this long and the pressure was beginning to truly weigh on him. This isn't good.... He thought to himself as he stopped swimming and took a few long, deep breaths in an attempt to equalize the pressure inside and outside of him once again. It wasn't working very well at this point but he knew it wouldn't bode well for him if he didn't figure out how to do it soon.
Rather than hearing Omastar's cry as he had before, Lykas felt the ruins shift and rumble, the sounds of something scraping on the walls echoed through the halls nearby, causing him to jump slightly. Omastar was getting closer to finding him and fast. Taking another long breath, Lykas threw on the rotor, spinning his ponytails in a propeller behind him. This action pushed him through the water a bit faster and let him explore further in less time. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, though and so he dedicated himself to remembering the paths he took from here on so he wouldn't have to waste as much energy marking his way.
He was lucky to not encounter another dead end on this route, though he didn't find another intersection for a while. Each turn he found was a deliberate bend in the road ahead which, in the end, looped back around to his starting point. “Are you kidding me?!” The hybrid exclaimed as he passed the last two wisps he'd laid down, the two beginning to flicker now and then, as if they were dieing light bulbs.
“Guess I need to hurry a little more.” He told himself, flinching when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
“Mastaaaaaaar!”
“Oh ~/~!” Lykas cried as he ducked around the next corner at the sight of a massive shadow. I cannot afford to get caught by that Omastar. He thought to himself, quickly continuing on down the path. “I could really use my Pokemon's help down here.” He groaned quietly, pushing himself through the water.
“Claw!”
Oh boy..... Lykas moaned inwardly, the voice he'd heard clearly neither his own nor Omastar's and it wasn't anything he recognized either. He glanced around, hurriedly, knowing fully that if he wasn't careful, a battle would reveal his location to Omastar.
Whoosh!
An orb of compressed water shot past him, the sea in front of his face rippling and wavering like some strange wrinkle in reality trying to iron itself out. The watery bullet that passed him exploded when it made contact with the wall on his opposite side, sending him barreling forward, head over heels. The hybrid, disoriented by his sudden shift in direction, found himself upside down, looking down at the ceiling(only knowing this because of the heads on the statues all over the place being on the wrong ends of the bodies).
“Claw! Itzer!” The strange, shrimp-like Pokemon declared as it emerged from an alcove along the outer wall. It appeared to be trying to defend a patch of seaweed that it considered to be it's personal garden. Lykas could understand why, considering it was the only patch of the stuff he'd seen inside at all and the window in the alcove might contribute to the reason. This was another set of firsts for these ruins. First alcove. First window. First Pokemon that wasn't Omastar. This just might be the perfect scenario in which to be killed by the immense, evolved Spiral Pokemon.
Not happening! He thought to himself when the possibility crossed his conscious mind. Clawitzer snapped at him a few times with it's over-sized right claw and Lykas Hexed it for the attempt. Recoiling slightly at the immaterial attack, Clawitzer doubled it's efforts by attacking Lykas with a Crabhammer, swirling water following it's massive claw as it sailed through the ocean, striking the hybrid's defending tentacles painfully. Lykas had other plans, however. Clawitzer making physical contact allowed him to use his Cursed Body to lay a crippling curse on the Howitzer Pokemon. Disabled for a few seconds, Clawitzer was left open to Lykas' Will-o-Wisp, the flickering boiling water flame soaring across the space between them to scald the Water-type. Recovering from it's state of temporary paralysis, Clawitzer fired a Dark Pulse at Lykas. The dark rings, filled with their ill intent, hit Lykas's psyche hard and ran like a freight train right over his resolve for a moment or two. The hybrid, however, regained that resolve after a few seconds and, deciding to end the battle, took note of the decent burn his Wisp had left before, unleashing a new Hex that turned Clawitzer into a sniveling mess.
Rather than leaving the shrimp for Omastar to finish off, Lykas pulled a ball from his pocket and took careful aim. Varuna had never said he couldn't use a Pokemon he captured while down here, right? Throwing the bubbly blue Ball, Lykas watched as it hit Clawitzer and the Water-type was drawn into it with ease, a flash of bluish light transforming it into the energy form that would occupy the device. The Dive Ball rocked a few times before it pinged quietly, signaling capture. Just as the boy reclaimed his Dive Ball, something strange happened. Some energy or another surfaced, alerting him to danger but before he could do anything at all, he was swept away by a powerful current. Said current seemed to know where it was going, though, because before long, he'd been deposited right back at the entrance of the ruins, battered slightly and bruised a bit by the rough expulsion.
“That was strange.....” He commented to himself, looking back over his shoulder at the even stranger ruins he'd been exploring. Maybe this new Pokemon could help him? Releasing Clawitzer, he pulled his (thankfully water and pressure proof) SNAG out of his pocket and scanned it with the Pokedex function. “Clawitzer, huh?” He asked it. “And you're native to Kalos?” He asked of the Pokemon. “So what're you doing all the way out here in Unova?” He wondered aloud.
“Claw claw itzer clawitzer claw clawit!”Clawitzer responded, wincing slightly at the burn still adorning it's shell.
“Are you kidding me?!” Lykas demanded, angry at Clawitzer's response.
“Clawit! Claw clawitzer itz er claw itz!”
“Some jerk trained you from your pre-evolved form and then just released you and traded you out for a newer Pokemon with a....Pearl...Shell.... ~/~ I know that ~/~!” Lykas cried in annoyance. “That punk really thought that thing was strong? I'll help you prove him wrong later but I need your help for now.” He said before charging up a Pain Split. Firing the black arrow at Clawitzer, the beam turned a bright red on contact and rebounded back to him. The hybrid doubled over at that point, clawing at his left shoulder, roughly the same place as Clawitzer's burn. “Ah! Arceus that hurts more than I thought!” He yelped after a few seconds. “I'm sorry for the pain I caused you, Clawitzer.... Can you forgive me?” He asked.
Clawitzer, for it's part, had recoiled at the beam fired at it but when it made contact and rebounded, it carried away much of the Howitzer Pokemon's pain. Realizing now that it had attempted to move it's arms and felt little pain in it, that the hybrid's actions had been intentional, knowing what would happen. It's features softened slightly and it held it's large claw up in front of Lykas, a tiny pink orb appearing in it when it opened. From the orb, small, pinker waves pulsated outward, relieving Lykas' pain, even that which he had taken from Clawitzer. “Heal Pulse....” The hybrid noted, recognizing the attack with ease since his own Gardevoir was experienced in it's use. “Thank you.” He stated after a moment or two of taking in the healing energy.
“Now....Can you show me how to get through these ruins?” Lykas asked of his new Pokemon.
“Claw clawitz claw zer claw itzer.” Clawitzer replied.
“Up to the third floor, huh.... Still better than where I've gotten so far on my own.” Lykas admitted after processing the shrimp's reply. “Thank you, Clawitzer.”
“Clawitz!” Clawitzer replied with a fairly cheerful look on it's face. After a moment or two it spoke again. “Claw claw claw it claw itz itzer claw zer.”
“Okay.....?” Lykas replied before doing as his newest Pokemon requested and grabbed onto it's tail.
Clawitzer laughed maniacally at that point, drawing water into it's cannon-claw before firing it out of the backside of said claw in a pressurized stream. The action sent it flying off like a bullet, dragging Lykas through the water behind it like a mad passenger on the Shrimp-o-Rail system through the ruin. The unfortunate hybrid was so shocked by the sudden takeoff that he couldn't have let go of Clawitzer until it stopped if he'd tried. His hand was frozen in place, locked in a death grip on the Water-types tail. More unfortunate for him was the simple fact that every time Clawitzer took a turn, he was slammed into the wall ahead before his own direction changed.
Battered and bruised, he was finally allowed to release Clawitzer's tail when they reached the staircase leading to the third floor. Lykas wasn't sure how he'd gotten there, the path lost in a blur of mixed-up colors caused by the sheer speed at which he was being dragged through the water. Shaking his head a few times and dislodging some(rather waterlogged) cobwebs which had hung themselves in the corners of his mind along the ride, he proceeded up the staircase with Clawitzer at his side. On the next floor, he noticed one thing first and foremost. The hallways here were much wider, the ceilings higher. And it seemed the turns were fewer and farther between. This floor would be much easier to navigate.
Despite the ease of navigation, the simple fact that the hallways were littered with ruined tables, chairs and assorted decorations made him feel uneasy. He felt like he was being watched by something sinister as he swam along the east-facing hallway. He would discover why soon enough as he was assaulted by three Octillery, which had been hiding in some of the ancient vases littering the floor.
One attacked with a Bullet Seed, another with a Charge Beam and the third with an Octazooka. The first attack was easily evaded, though the Charge Beam hit him hard and did it's job well, the hybrid buckling under the sheer force of it at first. The Octazooka, on the other hand, did next to nothing to him. The Water-type attack hit him square in the face but produced no other effect than to explode into a cloud of blinding ink in the water around the hybrid. “This.....is......great....” Lykas groaned, recovering from the Charge Beam slightly.
Before the trio of Octopi could react and attempt to escape, the hybrid had fired off several Will-o-Wisps. The first hit it's target, the second missed entirely and the third was so far off in left field that it's target was left wondering if it had even been aimed at all. The answer would come when the ink cleared, Lykas's forehead jewel glowing bright black as he readied a Hex. The burnt Octillery rushed Lykas like a mad old fool, a Signal Beam issuing from it's proboscis along the way. Lykas' Hex was unleashed upon it nearly halfway to him and it buckled, stopping it's charge it found it's fate sealed. Lost within the dark, self-destructive thoughts wrought upon it in that instant, it was no longer a threat.
Lykas twitched incessantly as his body was wracked by the Signal Beam, it's strange flashing waves of energy causing tremors through his nervous system for a few seconds. When the second Octillery attacked with an Aurora Beam, he fired his arrow-like Pain Split right back. The two beams met along the way, the bright black Pain Split struggling against the rainbow-tinged white of the Aurora Beam for a few seconds before the Ice-type attack skewed off and hit the ceiling, dropping a few small bits of stone to the floor from the impact. Lykas' Pain Split hit it's mark at that point, the Octillery drawing in on itself for an instant before it spasmed wildly for a moment or two, unconsciousness taking hold then as the hybrid sapped it's strength with the beam of pure pain.
The third attempted to do better than it's fellows, bracing itself against a wall. Taking careful aim, it summoned up its strength and released a Water Spout of tremendous size at Lykas. The hybrid, in an attempt to defend himself, returned fire with his own. The two geysers clashed momentarily but Octillery's won out in the end, Lykas' strength too low to really accommodate a fully-powered attack. Trying to finish this quickly, Lykas released a burst of three Will-o-Wisps in a bid to burn the octopus. Octillery evaded the boiling flames of the first two wisps but the third caught it in the side, scorching it's already red flesh to a vivid hue, easily setting the burn apart.
With the Pokemon now distracted by the nagging pain in it's side, Lykas released a Hex upon it that left it a writhing mass of suckers and tentacles, squirming on the hall floor. With the trio of invertebrates defeated, Lykas turned to Clawitzer, who was doing something both familiar and strange. In it's immense right claw rested a glowing pink orb, small waves of pink-hued energy pulsating outward from it. Clawitzer brought the orb near the Hybrid, minimizing exposure to the Octillery scattered around as it used it's Heal Pulse to restore Lykas' strength and heal his small wounds(very few, mostly from shrapnel blown about by the exchange of attacks).
“Thanks, Clawitzer. Now we need to get to the top floor, here.” Lykas said after a few minutes of relaxing and leisurely absorbing the radiant light of his newest Pokemon's healing technique. I don't know why but I feel like Okeanos would be a fitting name for Clawitzer. I'll ask it later. He told himself as Clawitzer began to swim ahead of him, taking point for the moment. The lobster-like Howitzer Pokemon remained as quiet as possible along the way, speaking only when it needed to. Both hybrid and Pokemon knew the importance of stealth at this point, though both knew it had likely been ruined by the battle with those Octillery.
Regardless of that, they also both knew that they needed to keep moving in order to prevent themselves from being caught by Omastar. Examining himself to try and see if he had any injuries remaining that needed treating, Lykas returned to looking for his route to the final floor. As he searched around, he spotted something new up above. One of the attacks exchanged must have knocked a hole in the ceiling. Not a large one but just enough to see through. Taking the opportunity to do so, he swam up and peered through the crevice into the floor above him. The luck he had working in his favor seemed to be running thin, however.
He could see a pedestal above him with what appeared to be a crown resting on it but that was all he could see. No door, no vision of the room surrounding it. Just a pedestal bearing a crown.
“I see it.” He said to Clawitzer as he continued on his path “But how am I supposed to get to it?” He wondered aloud. Clawitzer's response was to charge with a glowing claw. The Crabhammer attack bounced off the ceiling with the first blow but the shrimp would not be deterred. After several more strong attacks, the ceiling had cracked but done little more. “Give it up, Clawitzer. We'll just have to find another way. The Water-type heaved a sigh of resignation and followed Lykas as the hybrid swam further down the immense hall. It was not long before the duo came to a realization. This floor, as large as it was, was merely a single massive hall circling a large room that neither could seem to locate the door to. It took some searching, combing the walls with a fine-toothed comb for any sign of a doorway.
Once he'd discovered the entrance to the central room, Lykas and Clawitzer found that they were late to a party. Or a class of some sort, perhaps. A rather large school of Luvdisc sat before a Cloyster wedged into a corner of the room but the part that bothered Lykas most was the Lanturn on the opposite side of the room, with a large golden cup upside-down on it's head. “Is that a dunce hat?” He asked himself when he saw the sight, which reminded him instantly of the old cartoons he'd watch on Saturday mornings.
“Oh Gods....This is.....um....this is awkward.” Lykas said apologetically, waving his hands in front of him as if to say 'don't mind me, I'm just part of the wall here'. “Didn't mean to interrupt anything.” He assured as he slowly made his way towards where he could see the stairwell to the next floor waiting for him.
“Disc!” “Luv!” “Ster!” “Lanturn!”
The Cloyster and it's students burst into action all at once. Cloyster fired it's Spike Cannon while the Luvdisc attacked from all sides. One blasted a Scald while it's partner opposite used Ice Beam with two more using Aqua Jet to get in close and prevent Lykas from moving. Four others combined efforts to produce a Whirlpool, attempting to further hinder the hybrid's mobility. In an effort to protect himself, Lykas used his Water Spout to push himself away from the walls and into the center of the room, where the various attacks thrown at him were all spun off-kilter by the Whirlpool. Clawitzer had stayed at the entryway and strategically fired off Aura Spheres in time with Lykas' own efforts. One collided with a Luvdisc at the same instant Lykas hit with Hex. Another met it's mark in time with a Water Spout.
Lykas, spinning as he was failed to see three others be hit by the same technique before he was pummeled by four Aqua Jets back to back. Using this pain to fuel the attack, he honed in on Cloyster and, at his first chance, fired the deep black arrow that was Pain Split at the inappropriately shaped bivalve. The giant clam screamed in agony, snapping it's shell shut before it could succumb further, leaving it's students with no direction. Given that, Lanturn unleashed a Shockwave, zapping everything in the room with it's internal lightning. As it's once-bullies crumbled under the combined power of the hybrid and it's partner, Lanturn nodded silently and swam away. It had gotten it's vengeance and was satisfied with that.
Lykas twitched slightly from the electrical current running rampant in his nervous system but slowly came to, regaining control of himself with a bit of willpower(and a small boost from Clawitzer's Heal Pulse). “Even more awkward but ok. Let's get out of here.” Clawitzer nodded and followed the hybrid on to the stairs and up to the final floor, there to gaze upon the glory of the once-proud king's very symbol of power and authority. Now marred by the passing of the ages, algae encrusted over the long tarnished gold. The stolen luster of the object was not lost on Lykas, however. His first instinct was to take it for himself but he knew if he did, that Varuna would disown him as a student and the boy wouldn't put it past Varuna to have the capability of robbing him of what he had already learned under his tutelage and that was something Lykas was not willing to risk.
Swimming over and claiming the crown, he shoved the object into his bag and turned to leave, determined to escape this torturous and confusing labyrinth before he was caught by the enemy. Upon turning, he immediately found himself face to flesh with the very enemy he had sought to avoid. “Omaaaaa!” The thick blue tentacle worming it's way out of the stairwell wasn't the most promising of sights but Lykas could tell from watching that Omastar hadn't seen him or Clawitzer. It was simply chasing noises.
“Staaaaaar.....?” The gargantuan tentacle wriggled around a bit, feeling for any form of life but Lykas managed to remain squirmed just out of reach. Clawitzer hadn't been so lucky and was just seconds from being crushed when Lykas grabbed him with a tentacle of his own and pulled him out of the way of the enemy's probing appendage. “Shhh.” He gestured noiselessly, hoping that Omastar would give up soon.
“Sister, he's pinned down! We must step in!”
“For once, I agree with you little brother!”
From outside the ruins, two attacks came crashing through the walls. A Dragon Pulse and a Draco Meteor. The attacks were fired with such precision that they arced through the windows without actually damaging the castle structure, however, they connected with their target with such force that, in spite of it resisting the damage, it was pushed hard enough to unblock the stairwell. “GO!” Lykas commanded Clawitzer, the Pokemon nodding and used it's larger claw to provide rapid movement. Blasting through the ruins at top speed, the two found themselves not only lost within seconds but quickly pursued.
“Mastaaaar!” The pearl-shelled gigas had spotted them and knew the ruins far better than they. “We need to make our own path, I think.....” Lykas said as he focused his energy together. Unleashing a Water Spout in an attempt to use the powerful torrent to carve through the stone wall, he began to grow desperate when his attack did nothing to damage the walls at all.
“Clawitz....” Clawitzer bemoaned at the sound of slithering a scraping, Omastar hauling itself and it's massive nacreous shell through the narrower halls of the lower(higher?) floors.
“Oooooouuuuuttttt!” The voice that bellowed out was not that of the hybrid or any Pokemon he had ever encountered yet it seemed familiar. When that bellowing roar ceased, he felt another familiar sensation. A massive hand(or so it felt) gripped his whole body and gave a mighty pull. The hybrid found himself trying to resist but all it did was slow the path he was now forced to take.
“Maaaastar!” Lykas heard it closer now than ever. The scraping of doom slithering closer by the second. “Clawitzer! Keep up!” He told the Water-type. The Howitzer Pokemon nodded and zipped off after Lykas when the boy stopped resisting the unknown force which hauled him through the ruins. Time slowed nearly to a standstill when Lykas crossed a hallway through which he could see an immense eyeball surrounded by tentacles. Thinking himself in the clear, he was prove wrong when the form flashed silvery brown for a split second and then came rushing after him faster than ever.
Omastar's Rock Polish allowed it to squeeze through the corridors faster than ever and it pulled itself after it's quarry with far more ease. Drawing within striking range, it lashed out with his tentacles, attempting to grab Lykas and end the intruder then and there. It would withdraw quickly, however, when Lykas called on his new found skill to produce a boiling flame to burn the attacker.
Angered by it's prey's attempts at not being eaten, Omastar fired a Hydro Pump at Lykas. Incapable of moving with this strange ethereal grip around him, Lykas could only attempt todefend himself. That in mind, he used his Water Spout to try and deflect this attack, his heart sinking when it was revealed that Omastar was much stronger than him. Bracing for a slow and watery death, Lykas was saved by a corner. Hauled around it, Hydro Pump crashed into the perpendicular wall.
Not even a second later, Lykas felt the immaterial grip upon him release and he was hurled bodily out of the ruins. “Still screwed!” He told himself as he turned to swim away as quickly as possible but Omastar never followed him out.
“Huh...?” He began to wonder, turning to look back towards the ruins. Something didn't sit right with him.
Traversing the bay, he wondered, among other things, why that crown was left in such a place. How Varuna not only knew about the crown but about that Omastar as well. But what puzzled him most was the pair of attacks that had saved him from certain death the first time he'd been cornered by Omastar. Where had they originated and why had they arrived at that particular moment in time?
He found himself pondering these questions and more as he ascended to the surface, slowly but assuredly. Had Omastar not been capable of leaving the ruins? Or had it simply given up chasing him once he had left what it considered it's territory? And that voice and the force that had expelled him? Both seemed familiar but he couldn't place where he knew them from. These thoughts haunted him across the bay until he breached the surface, Clawitzer at his side.
“Hey! You're back!”
“Oh Gods, shut up!” Lykas screamed upon hearing the voice. “I kicked your Omanyte's a** a few hours ago, I'll do it again!” He threatened the swimmer boy, turning to face him.
“What?! I haven't seen you in three days! What's with the attitude?” The swimmer boy demanded, kicking sand into Lykas' face from the sandbar he stood on.
“Wait, what?” Lykas asked, completely confused at this point.
“You didn't go down to that temple under the bay, did you?” The swimmer boy asked, squatting down slightly to get a better look at Lykas.
“Ya, why?” Lykas replied, pulling himself from the ocean and rising up onto the sandbar.
“We call it the Temple of Lost Time. Anyone who's ever gone down there disappears for days at a time and says it's only been a few hours since they went down.” The young swimmer explained. “Still no reason for the anger there but I'll let it slide this time.”
“Ya, ok. Whatever. I have to go.” Waving off the young swimmer, Lykas looked down to Clawitzer, who stood at his feet listening quietly.
“Think you could carry me to the beach?” The hybrid asked of his newest partner.
“Claw claw itz witz clawitzer.” The Water-type replied with a small smile.
“Thanks.” Lykas responded, jumping back into the water and holding onto the Howitzer Pokemon's side. Clawitzer gave the boy a few moments to get situated before using his larger claw to pull them through the water. It didn't take more than two minutes to reach the shore in this manner and Lykas walked up onto the soft wet sand upon arrival, trying to wring his clothes out just slightly once he was had fully emerged from the sea.
“Now where is Varuna?” He asked himself, looking around for any signs of the Vaporeon master of the Water-type.
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 6:38 pm
“Welcome back to dry land.” Came the master's call from nearby, the powerful hybrid resting in a folding chair on the beach. “I was beginning to wonder if I would need to come and rescue you.” He laughed heartily at this, climbing to his feet when he spotted Lykas coming towards him.
“Here's your crown. Now tell me something.” Lykas said upon drawing near his master, pulling the ancient thing from his bag. “Why exactly was your voice booming through those ruins at me?” He asked, the sound of Varuna's voice registering in his mind and resonating in perfect sync with the voice he recalled from the temple beneath the ocean.
“Perhaps because I am the one who constructed them, primarily.” Varuna replied, taking the offered crown and examining it. “It's taken much damage. Time has been unkind to it...”
“Don't change the subject like that. Now tell me how you knew the crown was there and about that Omastar. Or why it could have caught me but wouldn't leave the ruins to do so?” Lykas demanded.
“I believe you were told to do as you were told and not to question me when we began this training of yours, weren't you?” Varuna asked, setting the worn crown upon his head.
“I'm not questioning your methods, only your knowledge about this topic.” Lykas countered, refusing to stand down.
“Fine. I knew the crown was there because I was the one who placed it there, remember?” Varuna replied, reminding Lykas that he had already explained that. “And that Omastar belonged to my brother, the true king of our lost civilization. The Cloyster you battled in order to forge your Aurora Grail was also his.” He continued, adjusting the Relic Crown upon his head at the same time. “His Pokemon were charged with protecting either artefacts or secrets of our civilization after it's fall.”
“Thank you, master.” Lykas responded, not even bothering to consider why Varuna had donned the crown.
“So did you learn anything while you were down there?” The hybrid master asked, curious,
Lykas nodded. “I did.” He replied, forging the mental image needed to shape his energy into the attack. A small flame of boiling water sizzled into life in his palm after a few moments, surprising both Lykas and his master.
“Intriguing. You have learned a new technique but the circumstances of it have altered an attack which has always been known to follow a strict formula.” Varuna observed, touching the boiling flame delicately only to be find that it burned with a dry heat like any other fire.
“Huh....I thought it only did that because I couldn't make it burn like a flame underwater....” Lykas added as he extinguished the liquid fire.
“Regardless of the how and why of it's appearance, you have succeeded in your task. The crown has been returned to me and you have learned a new technique, which you can use to your own benefit however you choose.” Varuna finally stated, returning Lykas' Pokeballs to him.
“And don't think I didn't notice your new friend there. I imagine it was with it's aid that you escaped?” He asked after a moment or so.
“Yes and just barely at that. If it hadn't been for Clawitzer's speed, we'd have both been killed by that Omastar.” Lykas confirmed, rubbing Clawitzer's head affectionately.
“Very good, then. Go and enjoy your time in peace until I have determined what you will do for your next training exercise.” Varuna said before walking into the ocean and seemingly dissolving into pure water, vanishing from sight.
“Alright....Time to go and settle a debt. After we get food and rest.” Lykas said to Clawitzer. “By the way, how do you like the name Okeanos?”
“Clawitz!” Seemed to be a good fit, based on the smile upon the pistol shrimp's face.
“Good. Now, food first, sleep second and then revenge tomorrow.”
Mission Complete!
Mission Report: ~ Entered the ruins at Varuna's request. ~ Explored, got lost, explored again, got lost more ~ Figured out a new attack pretty easily(it wasn't hard in the environment) and used it to explored further ~ Caught a local Pokemon and got it's help to get deeper into the ruins. ~ Fought a few wild Pokemon on the third floor(I guess they were all living there?) ~ Finally found the Relic Crown on the final floor of the ruins ~ Barely escaped with my life thanks to Clawitzer and returned the crown to Varuna. ~ Got some rest and then headed out for a bit of well deserved revenge for Clawitzer and to return an Omanyte which appears to be the offspring of Omastar to the ruins.
Epilogue.
Lykas stood on a sandbar in Undella Bay with Okeanos by his ankles. “I challenge you to a battle. My Clawitzer against that rare Omanyte of yours from before.” The hybrid declared to the swimmer he'd encountered on his first day in the waters of the bay.
“You really think that thing can beat my Omanyte?” The swimmer asked, releasing the Spiral Pokemon without a second thought.
“Yes. I do.” Lykas replied. “Okeanos, Crabhammer.” Okeanos replied with a swift strike, launching itself at Omanyte with a burst of compressed water. Bringing the claw down with a white glow encasing it, water swirling in a solid form around it, Okeanos slammed Omanyte into the sand.
“Omanyte, Mud Shot!” From where it was squished into the soggy sand, Omanyte scooped up the wet, slushy silt and threw it at Clawitzer. Okeanos blocked the gooey sand with it's larger claw and when it looked around it to prepare for an attack, it was hit with a blast of thick, sticky mud. Blinded for a few moments, the swimmer boy and his Omanyte were given an opening. “Shell Smash, Omanyte! Then Rock Blast!”
Omanyte nodded and it's body took on a red glow as it shatter it's pearlescent shell coating, absorbing the pieces as energy, which it compressed into a series of large stones it hurled at Clawitzer on after another.
“Okeanos, Aqua Jet!” The Clawitzer nodded and a powerful current swept into life around it, carrying it away from Omanyte's attack. “Now Aura Sphere!” Using the speed gained from the Aqua Jet, Okeanos formed a brightly glowing orb of aura in it's large claw and, slamming said claw into Omanyte's back, it punched hard and released the Aura Sphere at the same time. The result? Omanyte was launched into the sky and vanished from sight. A while later, a large splash was spotted on the horizon.
“And that is what you get for throwing away a loyal friend for a trophy.” Lykas stated simply as he walked over to the swimmer. “Give me it's Ball.” He demanded of the boy, who whimpered slightly but shook his head defiantly. “Don't make me hurt you.” Lykas warned, eyes glowing with a treacherous black light. The swimmer boy froze for a few seconds, shivered as if suddenly cold and then handed Lykas the requested Pokeball before jumping into the ocea and swimming away as fast as he was physically capable.
“Okeanos. If you would, please.” Lykas requested, tossing the Pokeball to his newest partner. Okeanos nodded and caught the ball in it's large claw, pinching down on it for a few seconds before it was simply crushed, the button it's it's front flashing blue for a second before it went out forever. “Little ~/~ ~/~ himself, I think....” Lykas laughed, walking away from the sandbar with his partner at his side once again. “Mykel, Teleport us home, please.” The Gardevoir in question appeared from his own Pokeball and whisked Lykas and Okeanos away with him, returning them all to Snagem HQ.
I don't think I have to tell you the story of Sucellus and his forest again, we already covered that. By now you should have learned from Valerie on how one can enter Sucellus's Forest. In order to do so you must first offer a tribute to the Tree of Laverre. As you know, this tree is all that remains in this world of the ancient forest which Sucellus and the fairies once called home. The tree requires a very special fertilizer to sustain its self, one which must be administered every year. This fertilizer is difficult to create as the ingredients are hard to come by. Despite this Valerie's family has made a large stock of it in order to keep the tree healthy for generations to come. However, in order to prove your dedication you must gather the ingredients and fertilize the tree.
The first of these items is freshly ground Carbite, which is nothing more than the gem stones which Carbink shed every few years. Five different colored flower petals, enchanted by Flabebe. And lastly Roseli Berry. These items must then be mixed together and blessed by a trainer and their Fairy, in the form of prayer to the tree. Only then can Pixie Essence be made.
The Carbite should be the easiest to obtain, or the hardest depending on your luck. As said Carbink shed their gems and they just fall wherever. This isn't likely for a trainer owned one as it usually takes hundreds of years before they shed. Carbink can be found at Reflection Cave, however they are rare. Not sure what advice I can give you for finding Carbite but know this, there are wild Sableye in that cave and they love gems. Also beware of the other wild Pokemon, plus Carbink. The Carbink, for whatever reason, don't like their shed gems to be messed with.
The five different colored flower petals may be tasking. Route 4 and Route 7 are known for their beautiful flowers and Flebebe so they would be the best locations. That said, you have to get the flower petals from the Fairy Pokemon. They won't just give them up either. They are playful, and sometimes mischievous creatures, so they may challenge you to a game or make you work for one of their petals. They love to 'play'. Play their game and earn your petal.
The last item, the Roseli Berry, is a rarity indeed. Roseli Berries, despite being a Fairy's favorite food, grow in one of the most anti-Fairy places, Route 14. On Route 14 there is a Roseli Berry somewhere, hidden in the swamp. Any Fairy Pokemon can sniff out its aroma easily. The only problem will be getting through the swamp which is loaded down with Poison type Pokemon and in general not a good place for Fairy Pokemon. Furthermore Roseli Berry trees are so picky. The plant and berries are so delicate no human can touch them least they bruise and die, only a delicate Fairy touch works. That said, the locals don't take kindly to Fairies and will certainly attack ruthlessly.
Once you gather the items Valerie will instruct you on the proper procedures and help you make Pixie Essence. Once made you must fertilize the tree's roots with it and should you do everything correct the tree will reveal the Knothole to you, which leads to Sucellus's Forest, hidden away in its mighty trunk. Good luck.
Objective: ---Gather Carbite, five different colored Flebebe petals, and a Roseli Berry in order to make Eternal Essence.
Opposition: ---In Reflection Cave: Mime Jr., Mr. Mime, Roggenrola, Wobbuffet, Sableye, Chingling, Solosis, Woobat, Ferroseed, and Carbink. Also I hear Tourists often fight over getting a Carbite as a souvenir.
---On Route 4: Ledyba, Ralts, Skitty, Budew, Combee, and Flabebe (Yellow, Red, and Blue)
---On Route 7: Smeargle, Volbeat, Illumise, Roselia, Croagunk, Ducklett, Swirlix, Spritzee, and Flebebe (Yellow, Orange, and White).
---On Route 14: Weepinbell, Haunter, Quagsire, Skorupi, Carnivine, Karrablast, Shelmet, Goomy, Stunfisk, Ekans, Bellsprout, Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Barboach, and Whiscash. I also heard there is a pretty big and territorial Arbok there.
Pokemon: ---You may capture one Fairy type Pokemon.
Rewards: ---5x Snag Coins and if really good a Snag Emblem. ---One move of the Pokemon you are a hybrid of. Choose wisely as it can not be changed.
“Ok, I think I get it....” Kaya said as he slowly nodded at Valerie's instruction regarding the creation of Pixie Essence. “So I just have to mix those together like that.....and then I add this like this.... And that's pretty much it, right?” He asked as he mixed up a small amount of the ingredients. It wasn't enough to be considered waste but it was enough to teach him the method he would be using to make his own Pixie Essence with which to fertilize the Great Tree gate to the Knothole.
“Thank you, Valerie. I'm gonna go collect the ingredients I need to make this. I'll be back.” The hybrid stated to the strange woman.
“Blessed be, child of the Fairies.” Valerie wished him as he left, offering a small wave of peace.
“She's weird, don't you think?” The Klefki hybrid asked of his Sylveon partner as he walked out of the gym and headed south, towards Laverre Nature Trail. The Sylveon nodded slowly, though she gave the action some thought as he did and spoke up.
“Veee vee sylve veon.” Josephine said as she walked beside Kaya, trying to keep her ribbons out of the swamp mud as hey began to trek slowly southward.
“I suppose she is kind of....Pagan.” Kaya agreed after a moment or two of thought on his own part. “I don't suppose I have much room to talk, though. Not much of a follower of Arceus, myself.” He said with a laugh.
“Veon! Syl sylvee sylveon veee vee sylveon sylvee!” Josephine snapped, a single star-shaped beam striking Kaya on the forehead as if it was her way of giving him smack he apparently deserved.
“Ok! OK!” The hybrid yelped in response as he covered his head. “It was a joke, alright?” He offered as he knelt down, rubbing the pink fox's ears. “I know that people that are called Pagan are earth worshipers. You haven't figured out yet that I'm all but Pagan, myself?” He pointed out as he stood up. “To be honest, I really don't follow that whole 'Arceus is the creator of everything' belief system.”He explained, beginning to walk once more. “People and Pokemon aren't so different. How else could hybrids exist? There has to be something there, deep down inside us all, that binds us together. Especially when it comes to hybrids.”
Josephine listened a nodded periodically. She couldn't remember Kaya being so.....deep. Or open about his beliefs in a long, long time. Maybe not ever. It was nice to get inside his head for a little while.
“Anyway, you smell anything right now?”
“Vee?” Josephine asked, brought out of her reverie by the sudden question.
“The Roseli berries? Can you smell them yet?” Kaya asked. There was a reason beyond her company that Josie was his chosen partner to traverse the murky swamp that made up Laverre Nature Trail. She had to have the strongest sense of smell out of his party so who better than her to sniff out a berry that made up a Fairy's favorite snack?
Giving a great inhale, Josephine examined the scents that she could detect. Mud. Dirt. More mud. A few plants. A rather pungent flower. And a hint of something sickly sweet with just a touch of bitter tartness under all that. That overbearing sweetness must be coming from the berries! “Veee!” She cheered as she began to lead the way towards the delectable scent titillating her nose.
Drawing nearer to the source of the smell, the Sylveon began to become wary when her other senses became hazy. This didn't seem right. What could possibly smell so very delightful but cause this delirium when close to it?
“Viiiiiiiiiine.” The long, low, hissing voice went unheeded by the hybrid and his partner, neither hearing it as anything more than the simple release of swamp gas as they trudged through the murky route.
“What's that?” Kaya asked as he spotted a tree not far off, a large flower with long, sharp thorns ringing it's outer edge hanging just beneath it's lowest limbs. It almost seemed as if the flower grew from a vine rather than the tree itself. “Oh, wow. It smells really good.... Like a slice of paradise is hidden somewhere in there....” The hybrid stated as he drew nearer, Josephine at his side. Looking closer while he walked, Kaya noticed an interesting fruit hanging near the flower. Was that a Berry?!
“That's it! It's gotta be!” Reaching out to grab the berry, Josephine grabbed his arm with her ribbons and tugged, hard, stopping him just short.
“Viiiiiiiine!” Josephine shook her head, the gaseous release of the swamp mud lost to her as she did. “Syl sylvee sylveon veon vee vee.”
Turning his head to look at Josephine, Kaya grinned confidently. “I get that you're worried but, really? It's just a berry. What could be dangerous about it?” He regretted that question from the moment he asked it, the feeling of needles attempting to pierce his flesh drawing his attention back to the flower. “Carnivine!” The flower cried, not even attempting to pretend it wasn't trying to eat his arm. “You aren't going to get anywhere like that.....” He told it, raising his arm up with a bit of a struggle against the Pokemon's weight and, with a quick downward thrust, attempted to remove it from his extremities. With no luck. “Alright, you've forced my hand.” He grunted as he reached to his back with his free hand and grabbed the large wooden key he kept hanging from his keyring, spinning it around to use the butt of it like a pair of brass knuckles. Not that he really needed the bolstering of his steel-skinned fist. It simply padded Carnivine's skull from the punch it received, knocking it free after a few seconds of total oblivion.
“Ew.....You're gonna be paying me back for that.” The hybrid stated as he held his key-like sword in front of him. “Plant spit isn't exactly easy get out of your clothes, you know.” Carnivine laughed and lunged at the hybrid, it's massive maw opened wide in an attempt to Crunch him. The key in his hands found it's way into the Grass-type's mouth, holding it's jaws apart with ease. “Ooooh. You might want to see a dentist. Looks like you've got a cavity. Right about......here.” The hybrid said as he drove a fist into the Carnivine's stuck-open mouth. The Pokemon wailed as it was hit, flailing madly, trying with all it's might to free itself of the bothersome obstruction to it's primary orifice.
“Carnivine!” In all it's flailing, the Grass-type's roots shot out in all directions, whirling about snapping and slapping at anything it could see or hear. The Power Whips met nothing but open air in most cases but one caught Kaya across the chest, despite his best attempts at dodging the attacks. Try as he might, the man just couldn't hold his ground against it and was forced to the ground. Struggling for a moment to regain his footing in the swamp mud, his downcast eyes shot upward at the sound of a crack. Almost like a bone broken clean with incredible force. But of course that wasn't quite the source. No, his key, still wedged in the open mouth of the Carnivine, had become the victim of the Grass-type's assault.
Carnivine had turned it's vines upon itself, slapping at the key blocking it's gaping maw open repeatedly. The wooden key was losing it's integrity with each blow. Each successive strike caused it to bend, crack and snap just a bit more under the pressure of Carnivine's ongoing Crunch. “No.....” Kaya whispered as he shot upright, fists clenched tightly as energy crackled along his arms. One final blow of the Power Whip and the key finally cracked in half, splintering when Carnivine's wide open mouth came crashing shut on it.
“Carnivine.” The Pokemon gloated, spitting the pieces of his key at his feet. The not-quite newly formed hybrid's rage unleashed itself in a pulsing beam of energy shooting through the swamp at Carnivine. The wild Pokemon, not expecting this turn of events was hit and froze up, it's body frozen in place. The Grass-type's vine lashed out over and over again, attempting to break down the unseen walls that bound it in place.
“Klef!” Sora cried as he freed himself from his Ball an aimed a key at the enemy, waves of electricity sparking from it and arcing outward to strike. When Carnivine froze up further, twitching slightly it became apparent that Thunder Wave had taken effect. “Klef klef key klefki key klef klef.”
“Alright.....” Kaya agreed with a feeling of unease. This couldn't be over....
Leaving the paralyzed Carnivine in his wake, Kaya walked through the swamp with Josephine and Sora at his side, trudging through nastiness once again. “Any new signs of the Roseli berry?” He asked of Josephine after a moment or two, noticing when he did that there seemed to be something in his hand. Something he hadn't noticed before now. The object was coated in mud, swamp grass roots and what looked like years of possible rust. “What's this?” He asked himself, lifting the hand holding it up for a closer look. With all the mud and roots on it, he couldn't tell for certain but it was about an inch or so long -maybe two inches- and it felt like it was made of metal. Brushing off the roots as best he could and wiping away what mud could be pried off, he discovered it to be a rather antiquated key. The head of it was somewhat ornate but with a rather simple set of teeth. “A key? An old key.” He commented as he examined the little object, holding it up in the dim swamp light.
Holding onto it brought to him a strange feeling of power. Like he was somehow more complete. Perhaps like he were a more capable entity. The longer he held it, the more he felt it's effect. After a few minutes of staring, unblinking, at it, he noticed a spark. A tiny crackle of energy. That same energy that had come from him before, it looked like. “Interesting...” He stated as he held up a hand, attempting to make it happen again. All this time, he had walked absently forward, oblivious to his surroundings but as he looked at the hand he held in front of his face -the one not occupied by the key- he suddenly became lucid again and aware of his surroundings.
“Oh, sweet mother earth!” The exclamation that came from this sudden moment of lucidity crashing down upon him was not in pain or fear but of excitement. A scent unlike any he had ever detected before had invaded his olfactory receptors and overwhelmed his brain nearly instantaneously. The high that came with the scent made him become painfully aware of just what he had wandered across. A tree that stood before him, it's leaves as pink as the most perfect Pecha bore upon it's boughs a fruit which resembled a barely open rosebud. And this scent was coming from it.
“Veeee.” Josephine purred out, the scent wafting on the air here so delicate to her own senses that it seemed like an intimate bouquet of flavors simply waited up in the tree branches for her to find a way to bring it down.
“Kiiiiiiiii~” Sora seemed to moan out. The hybrid and his Fairies were nearly driven wild by the very scent of this rare and delicious fruit. Something in their minds was shut off by this tree's fruit and none wanted anything more than to simply devour the first of the succulent flesh they could get their hands on.
“Waitwaitwait!” Kaya's conscious mind returned only a fraction of a second before making a fatal mistake. Hand poised to pluck a low hanging fruit, he paused. “I'd better not do this mindlessly......” He thought aloud, looking at his Pokemon. First Josephine and then Sora. Neither appeared to be any better off than he had been a moment ago. With that thought in mind, he recalled both to their respective Balls and palmed another one. This one was more likely to produce a beneficial result than any other for one reason and one reason only. Nigel preferred Passho berries over any other he had attempted to give the Marill. Perhaps his rational mind would be able to resist the appeal of these better than the others? What better way to find out than to try?
“Nigel, come on out.” He said softly as he opened the Friend Ball containing his Marill. “I need your help. I'll hold you up but I need you to pick a berry from this tree for me and be as gentle as you can be.” He explained once he released the Water-type Fairy Pokemon and began to lift him up. Nigel nodded and reached out, touching a berry near him with a paw. It shrunk back and away from his touch but didn't shrivel. “Try to be softer.” Kaya advised. “These berries are extremely delicate.”
Nigel nodded and made the attempt once more. This time, he touched the berry and managed to pluck it gingerly, but when the tree released the tender fruit, Kaya was horrified to find that the Roseli berry simply squished in Nigel's paws, as delicate a touch as he had applied.
“This isn't working. We need to work on that soft touch that will let us pick the fruit without ruining it.” Kaya said as he sat Nigel down on the ground. “Go ahead and enjoy that one. Share it with everyone else, though.” He told the Marill, letting out his other Fairy-types for the moment. Before the others could become frenzied over it, though, he spoke up. “Nobody flip their s**t. Nigel got one of he berries off the tree but we're not here for that right now. We couldn't get one without damaging it so we're going to leave and come back later.” He explained to the three others, pointing out the tree before pulling his SNAG out of his pocket.
“GRAY, I need you to mark this exact location on the Kalos regional map so I can find my way back here later. Thank you.” He spoke into the device in his hand.
”Done. But I'll have you know I'm not your maid, I don't care how much you spread rainbows and glitter, Fairy boy.” The AI within spoke back to Kaya.
“And I'll have you know I'm good friends with Odd. I can have him come in there after you. Lykas as well.” Kaya shot back.
”Good luck with that. Your friends are both classified KIA in my database. Not much good if they're not alive, are they?” GRAY asked, refusing to accept the existence of the two Ghost-Type(Or Ghost-like in Odd's case) members of the team.
“Whatever you say, you deluded machine.” Kaya responded, looking down to his Pokemon to see how they were doing.
“Wait.....” He grunted when he noticed something. Each Pokemon held it's own berry now, rather than part of the original. “How did you all get a whole berry?”
“Tiiiiic!” Anael chirruped as she handed Kaya a Roseli berry.
“Anael? You did it?!” The hybrid asked, bemused somewhat by the fact he hadn't even considered the Togetic. Her gentle nature and childlike personality must have lent her that perfect touch to pick the berries without harm to them. “Well that's fantastic!” He cheered after a few moments of looking at the berry in his hand. He knew it was delicate and it would not be easy to carry it for long without harming it in some way. He was considering how he could possibly store it in his bag while he collected the remaining ingredients necessary for the production of Pixie Essence.
“Duh!” He exclaimed after a few more moments of thinking, slapping himself on the forehead with his free hand. Digging into his bag, he pulled out a handkerchief. He never used it for anything so it was just taking up space for now. Gently placing the berry onto the edge of the cloth, he rolled it up within, folding the ends over halfway and continuing to roll the fabric square around the berry afterward. Once it was fully wrapped and the berry was suitably padded against damage, he took out a spare Pokeball, opening it in it's expanded form and placing the berry inside. Once he closed the Pokeball, he determined the berry would be safe from harm from that point on.
“Alright, who's ready to go catch some fairy flowers?!” He asked of his team, looking around for them. “Um....Where'd they come from?” He asked when he noticed what his team was looking at. They were surrounded. A Skorupi, a Goomy, a Weepinbell and an Ekans had them caged in. “OK then.....Looks like it's time to fight. But don't go wild. Not here.” He stated as he tried to keep the swamp entourage all in sight at once. “We'll aim for the Goomy first. It's going to be our best bet, I think.” He informed his partners.
“Josie....You use Moonblast. Sora, Play Rough. Nigel, hang back and use Aqua Tail to create an opening only if you have to. And Anael.... Think you can manage an Air Cutter?” The team's instructions given, Kaya prepared himself. His wooden key was lost now so his only way to fight was with his own body. The group watched their foes carefully as they advanced, moving as a single unit in an attempt to scare off their would-be attackers solely by appearing to be a single entity in their manner of movement.
Following their instructions, Kaya's Pokemon moved together, acting only when provoked. As it would turn out, the Skorupi in back was first to act. Claws glowing bright with a sick green color, the Scorpion Pokemon unleashed a storm of stingers upon the opponents. Kaya, hearing the incoming needles, threw himself into the path of the oncoming pins. The Pin Missile struck against his steely flesh and bounced off, a mild irritation the only result. “Now!” He exclaimed to his partners.
Taking their cue, Josie and Sora moved. The little Klefki charged in headfirst, keys swinging wildly with Fairy energy, extended outward like toothy blades. The Fairy-type's attack was enough to tear Goomy asunder, but Josie's Moonblast did little to the Poison-types surrounding them on all other sides. In the attempt to flee, two Poison Stings and an Acid attack came flying at the group. One again, Kaya hurled himself into the path of the oncoming blows, toxic needles bouncing harmlessly off of his steely flesh, arms crossed to defend himself and his allies. Once he felt that they were a safe enough distance from the Roseli tree, he quickly spun on his heel, recalled his quartet of Pokemon and threw his hoverboard into the air, jumping on just as the Pokemon around him went on the attack once again.
Skorupi's Bug Bite caught Ekans in the neck as it chased after Kaya in hot Pursuit, both left trembling in the hybrid's wake when his escape blew Weepinbell's Stun Spore backwards towards the group. Rushing off into the swamp without a second thought, Kaya raced off to his next destination: Parterre Way. With the Roseli Berry safely stored in his backpack, it was time to retrieve the petals of a Flabébé's flower. From five of them.
“This is going to be......fun.” He groaned as he soared over the swamp mud, slowly finding his way out of Laverre Nature Trail. Along the way he pondered over the possibilities of his abilities. That energy beam he had released earlier...It had to have been Fairy Lock but what truly bothered him about it was that he hadn't been able to summon up that power since then. Could it have been the key? He thought, unable to comprehend how something so simple could have such a profound effect on him. Thoughts such as this occupied his mind until he arrived in Santalune City, where he dismounted his hoverboard and stowed it away. “Alright....Time to make with the Fairy fun.” He reminded himself as he started back down Parterre Way, where he had come from in the first place.
Unsure if he should have a Pokemon out of it's ball to aid him in this or not, he opted to do so on his own powers. As he walked the path, he headed off toward a flower patch nearby, knowing that Flabébé preferred such places over any other. When he arrived, he examined the flowerbed he had chosen, discovering a fairly interesting mix of flower colors. These couldn't have been planted by the people who maintained the roads. Those beds were always made up of a single color of flowers.
“Interesting....” He thought aloud, looking more carefully at the flowerbed. He didn't see anything at first but after reviewing Flabébé's information on his SNAG's Pokedex feature, he found it. “I see why I don't see now.” He said to himself when he found the part regarding the Fairy-type's size. “They're so tiny. I probably wouldn't have ever found one if I hadn't looked it up on here.” Placing the device back into his pocket, he returned to his search. Nothing stood out to him, despite his best efforts and, after a while, he gave up and headed back into Santalune City. He found a cafe not far from the Pokemon Center and settled into a seat while he looked over a menu someone had left before him.
“Bébé!”
Kaya perked up at the sound of the tiniest voice he had ever heard. Something.....interesting was nearby. “I get the feeling I didn't find anything because I was looking too hard....” He said to himself.
“Flabébé.” Looking over his shoulder, the Fairy Knight-to-be found a tiny Pokemon adorning a tiny flower floating happily through the air. “You know you're adorable, right?” He asked the Pokemon, who nodded in response, blowing a miniscule Fairy Wind into his face before floating away with a giggle. The Pokemon rode a flower with petals of bright red, making it both recognizable and nearly impossible to identify if he lost track of it. All of the flowers planted nearby were the same shade of red and he wasn't familiar enough with the flower species Flabébé usually picked out to discern it from any other red flower.
“Flabébé, come back!” He cried out, jumping up and trying to follow it. It had disappeared from sight before he could even leave the cafe patio and the hybrid let out a small, defeated sigh. “Looks like It's going to be harder than I thought to get a hold of these petals.....” He didn't have the slightest idea.
The young man decided that lunch could wait at this point and so he returned to his search on Parterre Way. Only this time, he released one of his Pokemon into the field, that being Constantine the Dunparce. He had learned during the team's stay in Kalos that Dunsparce where native to the nearby area and figured that if a Flabébé were to appear before him, it might help to have a native species with him. “Constantine, I know we haven't done much training before now but I don't need you to be strong, just attentive.” He told the Normal-type Ground Snake Pokemon.
“Spaaaarce.” Constantine replied, fluttering it's tiny wings with all it's might.
“We're looking for this Pokemon.” Kaya explained, pulling out his SNAG and looking up Flabébé's entry. “The only difference is we're looking for more than just this one color of flower. Flabébé have flowers of different colors and I need to track down one of each color.” He said, stowing his SNAG once Constantine had had plenty of time to examine the image and memorize the appearance of the Pokemon and its flower on the screen.
“Spaaarce. Dunsparce sparce.” Constantine nodded and began to flutter off into the nearby flowers. Being small and close to the ground, he might be able to sneak up on the tiny Fairy-types if he were careful.
“Fla! Flabébé!”
Kaya heard the tiny cry almost as soon as it was released by it's source. “Did you find one?” He asked of Constantine, who poked his head up out of the flowerbed and shrugged(a feat Kaya had assumed impossible until now). “Bébé!” The cry came once again and Kaya began to look around, the sound tiny but close by. It took several long minutes of searching but the hybrid eventually found the source to be further away than he had first imagined. “Flabébé bé flabé bé!”
“Are you alright?” Kaya asked, reaching into the bushes where he had tracked the sound to. Deep in the branches of the bush, a tiny Flabébé was trapped, entangled in the leaves and new branches within it, it's flower nowhere to be seen. It took a bit of work but Kaya managed to extricate the little Pokemon from it's imprisonment within the plant with minimal casualties. Flabébé was scraped up a bit but otherwise unharmed and the tiny Fairy-type was more than glad to give it's savior a hug, holding tightly to his hand. “I'm sorry you got trapped in there. I know it's not my fault, but still. I feel bad for you.” Kaya told it, holding his hand up to his face where he could see the miniscule Pokemon.
“Flabébé! Flabé bé bébé fla flabé fla fla!” Flabébé replied, still holding tightly to Kaya's hand.
“Wait, what? I did not destroy your flower. I've only seen one Flabébé the whole time I've been in this region and I've never touched one before now.” He explained to the Fairy-type. “I don't see how you can be blaming me.”
“Flabébé! Flabé bé!”
“My hoverboard? It blew you into that bush when I came into the city?” This did not sit well with the hybrid. “I'm sorry. I didn't see you. How can I help?” He asked, genuinely concerned. He had heard that Flabébé only chose one flower for their entire lives. Never had he imagined that it was possible to lose that flower or to replace it.
“Flabé fla flabébé.” Flabébé was determined that Kaya should take it with him until it found a new flower it liked.
“Alright. I guess hold on tight, then. I'm not slowing down any time soon.“, he told the Fairy, setting it on his shoulder. Flabébé did as it was bade, grabbing hold of his shirt's collar and holding as firmly as it could as he began to search in earnest for another it's kind.
He considered using a device he'd acquired in his family's travels as a youth; a device called a PokeRadar, which could trace nearby Pokemon to their exact location. But he realized quickly enough that just finding a Pokemon wouldn't do him any good. He needed specific Pokemon for his quest today. “Hmm....Odd can sense other people with their energy....I wonder if I can do the same?” He questioned himself. He knew he needed a Fairy-type Pokemon's energy to trace and with no idea what his own felt like yet, he chose to use the one on his shoulder as his focus.
“Little one, can you use one of your Fairy-type moves for me? I need to focus on the feeling it gives off when you do and none of my own Pokemon are pure Fairy-type except one.” He asked of it. The reason he chose not to use his own Pokemon? Josephine might be a pure Fairy-type but her energy must have been tainted by exposure to his own by now. This little Flabébé hadn't been around him long enough, yet.
“Fla bé.” Flabébé agreed as it jumped into Kaya's hand and held it's tiny hands outwards. With a large amount of concentration on it's part, Flabébé used it's Fairy Wind attack, sending a sparkling pink gale flying into Kaya's chest. It was a small zephyr compared to the full-on twister it would normally be and Flabébé explained that, without it's flower, it was losing energy and fast after it was done.
“Oh dear....We should find you a new flower very soon, then.” Kaya replied after all was said and done. Though the tiny Pokemon's attack was weak, it had given him what he needed. The pure Fairy energy poured into the attack had triggered a sort of familiarity within the Klefki hybrid when it struck him, leaving him a better sense of what he was looking for.
The hybrid soon found himself trying to feel out the vibrations let off by the local Fairy-type Pokémon. It didn't take him long to find something. Sadly, it wasn't what he was looking for. The Skitty he'd tracked down chased it's own tail around in a circle a few times before spotting Kaya and jumping up at his hands, the hybrid's steely flesh glinting the sunlight. Kaya grabbed hold of it by the scruff of the neck and held it up to his face. “You're not a Fairy.....Run along and play with someone else.”, he told it, annoyed slightly when it pawed at his nose instead of doing as it was told. He placed the feline back on the ground and nudged it with his foot. The Normal-type finally took the hint and scampered off into the flowers, leaving Kaya to his task.
He resumed his search for Flabébé with flowers in order to try and get his hands on those blasted petals he needed. It wouldn't take him too much longer, now that he had figured out what he was trying to sense. It was surprising for him to find not one, not two, but three Flabébé gathered together, each talking to the others excitedly about something, after all, finding a single one should have been hard enough given their size. But perhaps it had been the gathering that had allowed him to sense their presence in the first place?
“Flabé?”
“Bébé!”
“Fla bé bé?”
“Flabébé bé.”
“Bé! Flabé bé.”
“Mind if I cut in here?”
“FLABÉBÉ!”
The trio was startled by Kaya's sudden appearance and made to scatter, crashing into one another along the way. In their hysteria, two of them lost petals to their flowers and knocked the third for a bit of a loop. Kaya tried his best to conceal his laughter at the reaction he'd received as he knelt down and placed the unfortunate victim of the collision back onto her flower, picking up the two left in the grass near her at the same time. One Yellow and one Blue. And the little one left behind rode atop a flower of red, now looking up at the knightly hybrid as he looked down upon it from his towering height.
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that.” He told the Single Bloom Pokémon.
“Flabé?” The Pokémon asked, curious about the metal giant before it.
“Yes, I'm human. Well, sort of.” Kaya replied with a small laugh. “I want to be more than that, though. I want to become the King of the Fairies. I've heard legends of him my whole life but until recently, I thought they were just that. Stories. Literal fairy tales.” He explained to the Flabébé. “But I'll need your help to even take my first step towards that journey.”
“Bébé fla bé flabé.” Could it be true? Flabébé wondered how true this human was.
“I need a petal from your flower. I'm trying to make the key I need to seek an audience with the current Fairy King and it's a necessary ingredient.” Kaya said to his tiny host.
“Bébé.” Flabébé finally conceded, the sound of quiet pleading in Kaya's voice evident to the sensitive sprite, plucking a single small petal from it's blossoming mount and handing it over to Kaya.
“Thank you. I won't come around here for a while, now. I don't want to go scaring anyone off again.” The hybrid said in response to the kind gesture. Flabébé waved him away as he stood, placing the petals delicately into his bag, where he would be able to retrieve them later with ease. Rather than taking his hoverboard, He walked the distance to Lumiose City, where, upon entering the city limits, he would mount the board in a place where he would not harm any local Pokémon, heading towards Kalos Route 7.
The little Flabébé on his shoulder held on tight as he flew aross the city, drawing looks from the upper class the entire way. Not the most subtle of things to be doing. Not when he had the intention of claiming a title of nobility someday, at least.
Kaya ignored the people, reaching up to hold Flabébé in place as he crossed the largest city in Kalos(or possibly the world. He wasn't sure.). Nearing the gatehouse to his intended destination, he slowed down a bit. Pulling out his SNAG and checking the map of the region, he noticed he'd need to cross the Route ahead before he reached the correct location but he wasn't in any hurry just now, anyway. “Hold tight, Flabébé but don't worry. I'm not going to be flying so fast anymore. I want to try something along the way.” He told the little Pokémon on his shoulder.
“Bébé.” It nodded, growing silent afterward to watch what the half-human was going to do.
After passing through the gatehouse, Kaya called out Sora. “Klef klef?” The Fairy keychain asked, jingling it's keys joyfully now that it was back out in the open air.
“I want you to explain to me how to use Fairy Lock.” Kaya told his partner, a look of determination in his eyes, though they were hidden behind his mask.
Sora nodded and dove right in, explaining as best he could, what it felt like to gather all that energy, give it form and will and release it into the universe. It was, to him, like magic. Almost like something straight out of another world. Probably because for him, it was.
“So if I've got this right....then I just need to do this...then this and-” Upon his mental insistence, Kaya managed to forge a ball of light in his open hand which exploded in about half a second.
“Holy jeez!” What had happened? It felt like he was actually making progress there. The energy inside him had made it outside fairly easily but the form and function parts had simply caused it to explode in a shower of ephemeral glitter.
“Klefki klef klef lefki ki klef.” Sora explained, holding up his keys to prove his point, one of them aiming at empty space and firing a thin beam of pink-tinted golden energy at the space, whereupon the sound of a lock clicking could be heard from seemingly everywhere at once.
“I need a focus?” Kaya repeated back, wondering what that meant. He'd never heard of any other hybrid needing to focus their energy through an object to use it. Then again, he knew relatively little of hybrids before becoming one, himself, and still didn't know much.
Having stopped to practice all this, he resumed flying on his hoverboard while he thought about what Sora had said. He thought back to the wooden key he'd lost not long ago. He'd felt almost complete when wielding it like a sword and he hadn't quite felt like himself since losing it. He'd simply chalked that up to it being a sense of loss before but....Maybe Sora was onto something. While he knew little of hybrid, he'd learned plenty about Klefki before fusing with one. Most, if not all of them, would search to the ends of the earth to reclaim a key they'd lost or had been taken from them. So....what if it wasn't just a focus he needed? What if it was some kind of key? Something that was an integral part of every Klefki.
With that thought something came to him. He'd used something like Fairy Lock without even realizing he'd done it when he got his hands on that key in the swamp. What had he done with it?
All these thoughts passed through his mind and dulled his senses, leading to his lack of realization before he flew right through route 5 and on to Route 7. He'd crossed the bridge over the river and gone on to the Pokémon Daycare before he crashed into someone.
“Hey! Watch where you're going you filthy halfling!” A young boy exclaimed as he picked himself up from the dirt, brushing off a fairly expensive looking powder blue suit.
“Excuse me?” Kaya questioned, lifting himself up from the ground, where he'd been thrown on impact. He had no idea where his hoverboard had gone, yet. It appeared to have kept going without him.
“You heard me, you hybrid filth!” The young man barked back. “I'm on my way to the daycare and here you are, throwing me down for no reason. There's a reason things like you are supposed to be getting stopped at the borders!”
“Now listen here, you little punk, you might think you're entitled to be an arrogant little sod just because you have money,” an assumption made based on appearances, which he prayed was accurate,” but you've no right to speak to someone who's nearly ten years your elder, or anyone else for that matter, with an attitude like that.” He snapped, standing over the younger boy.
The fourteen-year-old rich kid glared up at Kaya. “Alright, you want to make a point? Then let me get my Pokémon back from the daycare center and I'll take you on at the Battle Chateau. We can really prove a point, there.”
Kaya didn't really want to be sidetracked from his mission here but this little pain-in-the-neck needed to be taught a lesson about acting like a git. “Fine. I'll meet you there.”
“Not happening. They won't even let filth like you in the door without a recommendation from a member let alone let you battle there.” The kid replied, sticking his tongue out before going into the Daycare, emerging only a minute or two later. “Let's go Filth.” Seems Kaya has a nickname now.
Kaya grumbled quietly, trying to keep from calling the boy names. He wouldn't stoop to that level. He was an adult, after all. “Lead the way, you...”
“What's that, Filth? Are you speaking to your superior?” The boy leading him along asked as politely as he could while still making his insulting comment sting as maximally as possible.
“Not at all. I'm simply devising a strategy for our battle.” Kaya replied as calmly as possible, though he was sort of devising a strategy. He wanted with all his being to let Sora lock whatever Pokémon he used in place and then pound it's face in but that would be an unfair move to make and wouldn't prove anything. So instead, he decided that he would hold out on letting Sora be a one-keychain army and would allow Nigel and Anael to battle instead. Unless they were left at a dissadvantage. He had another choice, anyway. He'd brought along two Pokémon that were not Fairy-types after all.
Once the duo had reached the Chateau, the spoiled rich kid leading the way stepped up to the door and pushed it open. “I've returned and I've brought a guest with me.” He called out, inciting someone much like a butler to rush over to the door and greet him.
“Welcome back, Master Bilt.” The older man greeted with a low, polite bow.
“You're not a slave. Don't act like he owns you.” Kaya said as he walked in the front door behind the young “Bilt” boy.
“No, sir he does not own me but he does own a part of this building, as do all those who hold noble titles in Kalos, and to them I am eternally loyal.” The butler replied as he straightened up. Upon spotting Kaya, his face grew grim. “What are you doing here?! Your kind are not allowed in the walls of the Battle Chateau.”
“Calm down, Mister Gaits. Have we forgotten the exploits of one Marquis Blizzard? The halfling who rose to his title in only a few short days?”
“No, sir. But he came with a recommendation from the Gym Leaders. Wulfric himself invited that one to join us.” Gaits responded to his young master.
“Then I would like to formally invite this halfing to join us as well. He has brought my honor into question and I believe being beaten in this place of royalty and honor might knock him down a few undeserved pegs.” Bilt said, a smirk on his face.
“Very well.What might your name be...sir?” Gaits asked of Kaya.
“My name is Kaya Rayvn.” The hybrid responded.
“Then I welcome you, Baron Kaya, to the Battle Chateau. Good look rising through the ranks.” Gaits formally greeted the hybrid at last, picking up an old-style polaroid camera and taking the hybrid's photo, shaking it softly to develop the film more quickly.
“Baron?” This might require an explanation he wasn't getting.
“You don't need to worry about that. Just a simple nuance.” Bilt replied. “Now then, let's find our way to the battlefield.”
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 4:25 pm
Fairy Master Mission 1 Part 2
It wouldn't take long at all, seeing as the primary battlefield was outside, on a massive boardwalk over the river and all it took to get there was a few minutes to cross the main floor of the chateau and exit through the back. “Pretty swanky.” Kaya whistled in appreciation, walking outside along with Bilt, the rich brat leading the way.
“Indeed. Now then, let's get this battle underway and see just who's the better person. Myself. Or the halfling Filth.”
Kaya growled in his throat at the insolent little whelp's words and crossed the battlefield to stand at the ready. “You want an answer, fine. Then send out your Pokémon and we'll get started.”
Bilt smirked for the umpteenth time and took a very expensive, highly polished Pokeball(it appeared the red part was ruby and the white part diamond) from his pocket and opened it still in his hand. What appeared on the battlefield was something Kaya had not expected to see.
“Flabé!” The tiny Fairy declared, dancing atop it's bright white flower.
“It's wonderful to see you in such high spirits, Flabébé. Help me take out the trash, dear.” Bilt requested, ever so sweetly, of his Pokémon. The Flabébé nodded and moved without waiting for an order.
Kaya felt glad he had sent Primrose into battle as soon as Bilt had opened his Pokeball at this point. “Prim, don't take any chances here.” This kid might be a rich spoiled prat but that also meant he'd likely spent serious money on having his Pokémon rigorously trained by someone who really knew what that meant.
The little Flabébé under Bilt's command loosed a Fairy Wind without hesitation, the pink whirlwind closing in on Primrose with almost no time to react. The Leavanny did react, however. With a quick Swords Dance in the opposite direction, the Bug-type broke the Fairy Wind's spin and raised her attack power in a single swoop. “Good thinking, Primrose! Now, follow it up with a Leaf Blade!” Kaya called to his partner. The Leavanny nodded and rushed froward, bringing her sharpened claws around in a wide arc with a bright green glow engulfing them.
Flabébé jumped, ducked and otherwise dodged Primrose's slashes with relative ease. It's small size made it incredibly easy and in the middle of it all, Flabébé unleashed a Petal Blizzard right into Primrose's stomach, at Bilt's command. “Excellent, Flabébé, dear.”
Primrose was blasted back by the force of the flower petals but took minimal damage from the attack. ”Looks like I picked a good Pokémon for this battle, after all...” Kaya commented to himself as Primrose brushed the flower petals from her body. “See if you can't slow that little pixie down. Electroweb!” Kaya called putting his hand into his coat pocket. Primrose nodded and spit a small web into her claws, where she pulled and threaded and wove it into a larger web with an electrical current shooting through it. “Vaaaaaanny!” Primrose cried out as she charged it, her web readied.
Flabébé moved carefully, it's flower glowing in a rainbow of ever-shifting colors before a small blast of leaves bearing the same rainbow glow burst out from the flower-riding Fairy. Primrose was ready for it, though and, timing the jumped almost too closely for her own comfort, she ducked aside and threw her web. Flabébé was caught in it before it could escape and the shocking threads held it steady while Primrose ducked a dodged the homing missile leaves of the Magical Leaf that had been unleashed on it.
“Primrose, Leaf Blade Typhoon!” Kaya roared. Primrose knew that call. It was a combination she hadn't been asked to use in some time because of the difficulty of pulling it off. But there wasn't much else that would work here. Throwing her claws out to her sides, she summoned a ring of swords that spun and danced about her. Igniting her claws with earthy energy, she rushed into the storm of leaves, spinning as fast as she was able. The combination of Swords Dance raising her power and the energy trailing off of her blades, she was masked in a protective cloak as she destroyed her pursuers, coming to a stop just close enough to bring her blades down on Flabébé in a mock X-Scissor.
The Single Bloom Pokémon was unable to escape and the attack connected, freeing it in the process. The little Fairy-type twitched for a moment or two before it began to move again, slowly getting back up and glaring up at it's assailant. “You are more clever than I gave you credit for, Filth.” Bilt commended before looking to his Pokémon. “Release your inner strength, Flabébé! I know you are ready!” Bilt's call snapped something inside of his Pokémon and the Flabébé began to glow.
“Primrose! Take it!” Kaya ordered. Primrose knew what he meant. His Pokémon had been briefed a while back. They had been there when Valerie had explained what Kaya needed to obtain and how to prepare what he needed. While Flabébé glowed and remained still, Primrose rushed forward, a bladed extended with a bit of silk attached. Slashing at the Pokémon just before it began to change, Primrose liberated a single white petal from the flower it rode upon.
“Floette!” The Fairy Pokémon exclaimed, looking up at her opponent, who stood over it holding it's lost flower petal. “Floette?! Flo flo ette ette floette!”
“Floette, you're becoming emotional over a flower petal? Don't be so attached, Dear. We'll get you a new flower with even prettier petals.” Bilt told his Pokémon, whose reaction was to blast it's trainer in the face with a Moonblast.
“I have what I wanted. I'll be taking my leave now.” Kaya said when Primrose returned as gave him the flower petal.
“You'll do no such thing! We're not done yet, Filth!” Bilt exclaimed, wiping the pinkish soot from his face as he glared at the hybrid.
“I will and you'll deal with it, Snob.” Kaya retorted, branding the youth with his own degrading nickname.
“Now, hold on just one moment, Filth-”
“I've grown tired of that voice of yours!” Kaya screamed as he turned, drawing his hand from within his pocket, a key clasped in his fist. From the key, a thin, laser-like beam of golden energy shot forward and struck Bilt, the sound of an immense lock turning echoed through the area. “Sit and stay, Snob!” Kaya commanded before he turned and walked away with Primrose beside him. Bilt attempted to follow but found himself locked inside an invisible box.
“What?! Let me out!” Bilt demanded.
“You'll get out in a while, once I'm good and far away from you.” Kaya informed as he and his Pokémon left the Chateau, forgetting the young Bilt behind them.
Once outside in the Chateau and in the sight of the many flowers littering the pathway, Kaya found himself with a realization. The key he'd found. He had been carrying it the whole time and with it in his hand, the knowledge that it was his and his alone gave him not courage nor power but the feeling of completion. That sensation of wholeness he hadn't felt in quite some time lent him the ability to release some of his inner power as he had tried to do before and was unable. “Thank you for your help, Primrose. Return to your ball for a rest.“ He told his Pokémon, seeing that she was exhausted.
As the hybrid walked the flowery way to the west, he felt something. “Oh! It's you.” He said to the Flabébé on his shoulder. He'd forgotten it was there and only just recalled it as he was poked in the neck.
“Bébé!” The Fairy-type cried out, pointing not far off into the distance, where a very visible purple flower grew on a cliffside.
“Oh! It's a maypop!” He replied, walking over to the flower. Flabébé jumped down and examined the flower up close. Sidling up on top of it and giving a small push with it's energy, it frowned when the flower failed to react. “Awww...That's too bad...” Kaya said when he saw the Fairy-type's sadness. It didn't last very long, though. Not far from the current flower, Kaya saw a flower very familiar to him by now and picked Flabébé up. “Try this one!” He said enthusiastically, setting the tiny creature atop the blossom.
“Bébé?” Flabébé asked, the bright orange petals under it catching it's attention. Giving the same small push with it's energy as it had with the maypop a moment before, it was more than pleased to find a blast of energy filling it with power once more. No longer did it feel the weakness of separation and, in spite of blaming the human for destroying it's previous mount, it was also thankful for the help in finding this new one. “
“Flabébé bé flabé fla fla.” Flabébé said excitedly, holding out it's hands and producing a single orange flower petal, presenting it to Kaya before riding it's flower off into the sky in order to return home.
“Well...Wasn't expecting that....” Kaya said to himself, stowing the orange petal with the other four.
“Um...Let's see here....I have the berry and the five petals... What else do I need?” The hybrid asked himself, leaning against a tree to think. “Oh! The Carbite!” He recalled, thinking back on the list of ingredients Valerie had given him. “Alright, then, onward to Reflection Cave!” He cried out, making certain that all of his Pokémon were accounted for and back in their Pokeballs before mounting his hoverboard.
Speeding off from there, he headed into the cave known as Zubat's Roost. Also called the Connecting Cave the cavern traveled from Route 7 onward to both Route 8 and the home of the region's third gym, Cyllage City. Kaya zoomed through the cave, marveling at how two Pokémon who would normally be at odds with one another could live in harmony this way. The easily startled Whismur with their incredibly loud voices and the also easily startled Zubat with their even louder voices intermingled as if this were nothing less than everyday life for them. Which it was, in all honesty. Kaya was simply dumbfounded by the sight, though. It never crossed his mind that the two species being similar in their love of calm and quiet rarely bothered one another.
Thankful for how quiet his hoverboard was and with no interruption along the way, Kaya made it to Cyllage City fairly quickly, passing through the city and out onto the following route, Menhir Trail, where he was dazzled by the ancient standing stones. “Wow....Super ancient...” He commented as he traveled the route, weaving between the stones as he went. There was nothing along the route to bother him, though he was careful not to bother it, either.
Having avoided the dangers of the route, the hybrid made it to Geosenge Town without entropy interfering and, after double checking his map, he passed the tiny town by without bothering to explore. He had more important things to do than examine rocks in more detail than he had already, after all.
Cruising out onto Miroir Way, Kaya zoomed onward to the mountain that housed his destination. The hybrid ignored a small group of Dedenne that appeared to be having some kind of dispute and gave a wide berth to a Stunky wandering ahead. He watched a Hariyama training itself off the main path and gave a low, appreciative whistle in regards to the Fighting-type's visible strength.
“Yama!” The beastly Pokémon cried as it used a Bullet Punch on a nearby tree. The immense tree's trunk buckled under the attack and with a massive cracking sound, it snapped and the tall coniferous tree toppled over right into Kaya's path. Thankfully it didn't completely block the road and Kaya was able to go around it and on to the entrance to Reflection Cave.
“Final ingredient's here, I think.” He told himself and released Nigel the Marill. “I'll need you here, Nigel. Listen for any Carbink and help me try to find recently shed stones.” He told his partner Pokémon before venturing inside.
Nigel followed his trainer without question, ears perked and primed to receive any and all sound that was possible.
“I know there's one here, somewhere!” “I concur. Carbink shed their Carbite crystals fairly regularly but if my research indicates, they only shed once in a lifetime.”
“Marill rill maaaar!” Nigel exclaimed, tugging on Kaya's hand and pulling him toward the voices.
“Um...Hello?” Kaya said quietly, upon drawing near the source of the voices.
“Hm? A hybrid?” The source of the first voice was a short man, stout in appearance and rather built to withstand the cold and the pressure deep in the cave system.
“How marvelous!” Exclaimed the source of the second voice, a frail-looking, bespectacled woman with mousy hair. “Your kind have always intrigued me!” She declared, rushing over to Kaya and beginning to examine him under a magnifying glass.
“How interesting you are, indeed. Steel-type, it would appear. Oh, with a distinct Fairy-like sheen to the skin, which appears to be a bio-metallic polymerized exoskeleton. Absolutely stunning!” Kaya yanked his arm free of the woman's surprisingly strong grip when she pulled a small battery-operated drill from the bag loosely dangling from her shoulder.
“Um, I'd appreciate it if you didn't go drilling holes in my body without asking first.” He said calmly, rubbing the spot on her wrist where her hand had been holding firmly only a few seconds before.
“My sincerest apologies. I am Professor Amelia Willow and this is my husband, Tweedal Willow.” The woman introduced herself, pushing her glasses up her nose as she did.
“I prefer Dally, if you must call me by name.” Tweedal spoke up, a small pair of binocular-like goggles in his hands when Kaya looked over at him.
“It's....nice to meet you.” Kaya replied.
“Now that introductions are out of the way, might I test the durability of your bio-metal exoskeleton? I have theories regarding hybrids that require more information.” Amelia requested, eyes filled with a pleading curiosity.
“No, I'm afraid I won't be getting subjected to a scientific examination today. I'm a bit busy.” Kaya responded, turning to walk off. “I'm looking for a piece of Carbite and I don't have much time to find some.”
“Ah! Coincidentally, we seek the same thing here!” Tweedal cut in. “We have clues to where we might find some Carbite. Indulge my wife's curiosity and we just might be willing to share the haul with you when we locate it.” He said with an eerily calm sort of bribe.
“Hm....Sounds like a good deal but when you do the kind of work I do you learn not to trust good deals. I'll pass, thanks.” Kaya's answer came decisively and the hybrid turned away from the husband and wife.
“And so we've missed our chance once again.”
“I've told you before, you come on too strong.”
“I can't help my natural curiosity gets the best of me when presented with fresh opportunities to explore the unknowns of science!”
The voices faded away slowly as Kaya returned to the entrance of the cave system, which wasn't that far away. It was a fairly small cavern, after all, just deep, from what he'd heard about it from Valerie. “Nigel, try and keep tabs on those two with those ears of yours. If they find anything before we do, I'm taking it from them and getting the hell out of here.” He told his Pokémon, who nodded solemnly all the while listening for the Carbink as he'd originally been instructed to.
Kaya attempted to tune his senses into the energies he'd learned to detect when searching for the Flabébé earlier in the day, which, he was beginning to realize, had been far longer ago than he had thought before. Pulling out his SNAG and checking the built-in clock function, he noticed it was getting late and that he should be getting to bed soon but he needed to get this final ingredient. According to Valerie, this was the last night of the current full moon and Pixie Essence would only open the gate to the Knothole if it was used to fertilize the Great Tree during a full moon.
“We need to hurry, if at all possible.” He told both Nigel and himself. Not that it did him much good to say it if it was all a matter of luck. Returning to his attempt to focus on tracking energy sources he, found himself suddenly besieged by small explosions of insight into his surroundings. His senses, while not finely honed, had picked up on large deposits of Fairy energy. Not strong energy just....very large amounts of it. As if there were pools of the stuff just sitting in one place not doing anything. At all.
“Holy jeez!” He shouted, stumbling back as the feeling of drowning in ephemeral water overwhelmed his mind. “Can you feel that?” He asked of Nigel. The Marill cocked his head slightly and shrugged.
“Rill rill.” A resounding 'not a clue' was the answer. Not what Kaya had hoped for.
Kaya shook his head and tried to locate the energy deposits again, coming up blank. “Huh? How can it all be gone just like that?” Try as he might, now, nothing would come to him. The energies were simply not responding to his attempts to sense them any longer. “Son of a.....” He was cut off as something jumped out at him. Well, not something but someone.
“I knew we'd cross paths again!” Amelia Willow declared, drawing out her drill once more.
“I told you no!” Kaya shouted, turning around and running the other way.
“My wife is intrigued by you, Hybrid. I would suggest simply holding still for a while.” Tweedal Willow said calmly as he rounded the corner ahead of Kaya.
“Oh no.....” He was boxed in.. There were mirror-like crystals lining the reflective walls on either side of him and a crazy professor on either end. Placing a hand into his pants pocket, he felt a now somewhat familiar shape slip into his grip. Recalling Nigel with his opposite hand, he drew out the right and slashed it across the path in front of him. “Fairy Lock!” He shouted as he did, though nothing happened.
“No....” He slashed the empty air once again. “Fairy Lock!” Nothing. “Fairy Lock! Fairy LockFairyLock!” He began to scream, now beginning to fear for his life as the apparently psychotic people drew ever closer. He began to whimper quietly as he held the key in his hand before him.
~What's the point? Why did I turn myself into this thing if I can't even figure out how to use it?~ He thought quietly.
Lost in his own mind he found something inside himself. Something he would never have expected. Deep within his own heart, where he seemed to have found himself(he'd learn these things later), there existed a door. An immense structure in the middle of a reflective wall. All along the wall, he saw images of himself and his friends. Odd and Lykas, Trishella, Sub, Reno and the rest of the Snagems all took places on that odd wall, reflecting back at him from seemingly nowhere.
Open the door! Let out the Light of the Fair Folk's Kingdom!
“What?”
The Light of the Fair Folk resides within you. Open the door and release it now!
“Who are you?!”
Forget the who and why for now. Release the Light and unlock your power!
Kaya nodded silently. That voice.... It was strangely comforting. Like the voice of a father in the depths of a thunderstorm, calming the noise and the fear of a child in the dark. Walking quietly toward the immense white door, he took hold of the handle, an intricate pink gold thing, and twisted. It refused to let go of the door frame. “It won't open!” He shouted.
The strength is inside you. You must feel the strength and will in your heart.
That strangely comforting voice once again pushed him to try. If this was something important and not just some insane, drug-induced dream caused by him being captured by those psycho professors, then he had to do it. Even if that was what was happening, maybe this was himself resisting and trying to still get away? Turning the handle once again, he pulled. Nothing. “I will not stay here in the dark!” He screamed into the empty abyss behind him. The mirrored wall surrounding the enormous door whose handle he held firmly began to glow softly, a miraculous light coming from the other side of it's glass-like substance. “I will open this door and I will leave this place!” He screamed once again, twisting the door handle again and yanking on the door with all his might and all his resolve. It clicked as the lock released and, very slowly, the door creaked open, a soft pinkish white light flooding out into the empty abyss and driving the darkness away.
Kaya opened his eyes to face the light and found Tweedal Willow to be locked in place in front of him. “What the-?!?”
“That's what you are! A Klefki hybrid!” Amelia declared, pulling a notebook from her bag and scribbling a few notes in it rather hurriedly. “I had been trying to figure out just what you were after our last encounter and this all the answer I needed.”
Turning to Amelia, Kaya held his key hand forward and a pinkish-white orb formed in his palm. Clenching his fist shut on the orb, it warped into a key-like form. “Leave. Me. Alone!” He cried as he charged the woman, plunging the construct of energy through her, twisting the knife-so to speak- once it was firmly in place. The sound of a tumbler turning over echoed through the cave and when he released his energy key, Amelia Willow was immobile, locked not just in place but apparently in time as well. She didn't move or speak at all as Kaya took a few steps back.
“What did you do to us?!” Tweedal demanded, fighting the invisible walls encasing him. “What have you done to my wife?!”
“I've used the Light of the Fair Folk to lock you both in place. You'll be released in time. Her as well, I think.” Kaya replied, walking away with Nigel at his feet at this point.
Traversing the cave in peace now, Kaya and Nigel worked their way deeper into the cave, following Nigel's ears. It didn't take them long to begin finding signs of Carbink. There began to form, large pink-ish diamonds along the walls in places as they delved deeper still. This was beginning to worry him, though. Many of the gems had claw marks and what appeared to be tooth marks in them as well.
“Saaaaaable.” An eerie voice echoed mysteriously through the cave, making Kaya's steely skin crawl. The hybrid watched his surroundings carefully at this point. He had been warned that the Carbite might be hard to get his hands on if the native Sableye set their sights on it before it got there. But that was a good sign as well. If there were Sableye in the area, there might be Carbite nearby as well.
“Nigel, can you hear any Carbink?” He asked of his Marill, who shook his head slightly, pausing after a few seconds. He quirked his head back and forth a bit and then jumped slightly. “Maaar! Marill rill mar!” He began to run at this point charging into the cave's depths. “Slow down!” Kaya urged as quietly as he could, chasing after Nigel.
Racing after his partner, he found himself suddenly besieged by several facts. Firstly, he was confronted by not one or two but nine Carbink, all clustered together in close quarters. Secondly, there were more than a dozen Sableye lurking in the shadows at the edges of the chamber they were in the middle of. And thirdly, there was a small pile of gems on the cave floor, most of them a bluish-white but one or two small-ish ones were a richer blue color with less white. Looking at the cluster of Carbink, Kaya spotted the source of the darker-colored stones. A Carbink nearly black in color with a cyan-colored ruff around it's face. It's gems were darker in color than the rest of the lighter Carbink.
“I want that one....” He said to himself as calmly as possible, rolling a black Pokeball around in his hand as he looked down at Nigel. “I want you to use your Aqua Tail to push back any Sableye that get too close to those Carbink. I'm going in.” He told the Marill. “Marill.” The Aqua Mouse nodded as he bounced a few times in preparation.
Grabbing a gem stone protruding from the wall nearby and slamming his fist into it, he was thankful that it wasn't diamond and shattered at the impact. He was left with a small crystalline club, which had been his goal. Running out into the chamber where he could be seen, he began to wave the club around. “Hey, Sableye! Look what I have!” He called out, the glinting gemstone club drawing their attention. Several licked their lips at the sight of the thing but a few others disregarded it. “Fetch!” The hybrid called as he threw the club as far down the corridor he'd entered through as he was able. A few of the Sableye chased after it but the majority remained focused on the Carbink and their pile of shed gems.
“Damn.” Kaya groaned. Instead of worrying, he considered his options for Pokémon he could use to battle here. He had Nigel, of course but he also had Anael and Josephine with Sora rounding off the Fairy crew leaving Constantine and Primrose as backup if necessary.
“Looks like we're fighting.” He told Nigel, who bounded into the room at that point. “Nigel....Rollout!” The Aqua Mouse nodded and assumed the mandatory curled position, spinning as rapidly as his body would allow before he blasted off around the chamber, knocking into every Sableye he could hit as he bounced off of them like a Fairy pinball.
“Saaable!” Several hissed, returning his attack with a vehement Night Shade each. The Ghost-type blows did little to hinder the Water Fairy, though. His body was protected quite well by the pure centrifugal force of his rotation. Swinging back for another pass, his body spinning even faster than before, the Sableye tried a joint Power Gem, their various eyes projecting hexagonal beams at the landlocked bullet of a Pokémon. Nigel was well protected but with that many attacks coming at him at once with the kind of explosive power those beams had, he was thrown off-kilter and spun out of control, crashing into a nearby wall.
Before he could return to his feet and begin attacking again, the Sableye Squad turned their focus on the Carbink Collective, four using Shadow Claw to reach out and attempt to swipe some of that precious Carbite free of the pile. They were deflected by a joint Reflect cast by the Carbink, a wall of light coming down just outside the pile of Carbite and blocking the claws completely.
The remaining three jumped in to strike with Brick Break, knocking down the Reflect and opening up the jewel Pokémon for attack once more. The other four made a second attempt at the shed gems now. Two funneled an Ominous Wind toward the pile, hoping the focused, Ghostly winds would blow a few stones out of the Carbink's range to defend them. Another used Telekinesis to try and simply haul one toward itself and the fourth used Shadow Sneak to rush in close and snatch up one of the darker stones.
The Sableye were in for a surprise now. Six of the Carbink used their own Power Gem attacks to defend their stash, the thin beams of crystalline energy released from their head jewels cut through the darkness of the cave and blasted their attackers backwards several yards. The ones who had gotten close were subjected to far worse. The darker colored Carbink let loose a powerful Moonblast at close range, which knocked the one with it's own shed gem clear across the room and caused it to drop the swiped gem along the way. “Caaaaarbink.” It lamented, unable, currently to leave the defensive position and reclaim it's gem. Several of it's kin were still in the process of shedding their gems.
“Nigel, Aqua Tail. Finish the job.” Kaya ordered as he walked over to where Sableye had dropped the stone it had managed to claim, picking it up and stowing it in his pants pocket. “Thanks for the help getting this Sableye. But I think I want more than just this, now.” He said as he watched Nigel wash away the already weakened Sableye, his powerful Aqua Tail, augmented by his Huge Power ability, swept the unconscious Darkness Pokémon out of the chamber. All seven of them.
“Carbink! You, there in the middle, I challenge you to a battle!” The hybrid declared.
“Bink?” The Jewel Pokémon wasn't sure what the deal was with this odd Human-looking creature but it had a Pokémon at it's dispoal and it was another Fairy-type. If it commanded Fairies, then it might be worth a chance at battling. Besides that, the sounds of fighting might discourage other potential attackers from coming to this part of the cave system. “Carbink!” Challenge accepted.
Carbink floated forward from it's friends and started off the battle nice and fair. By using Reflect to weaken Physical attacks against it.
“Not a bad opening gambit but that's not all we can do!” Kaya declared. “Nigel, use your Hydro Pump!” Nigel nodded, took aim and sprayed a powerful torrent of water at Carbink.
“Bink!” Carbink's response was to erect a Light Screen, cutting the Hydro Pump down to barely a Water Gun as it passed through, filtered by the powerful defensive wall.
“Damn, you know how to stay alive.” Kaya praised in spite of his already mounting frustration. “Nigel, try using your Superpower to get through that wall.” He ordered. Nigel nodded, flexed his muscles and, as a dark brown aura enveloped him, he charged toward the Carbink, slamming his tiny fists into the Reflective wall it had erected to defend itself repeatedly. Carbink didn't act at first but when it's invisible wall began to visibly bow under the pressure of the immensely powerful strikes, it reacted at last.
“Carbink!” It would not be defeated. Not so easily. It's forehead gem glowed brightly as it released a Power Gem upon Nigel at point blank range. The Marill was not expecting the attack to be as strong as it was and was knocked back a bit but, before he could be finished off, he retaliated with his Aqua Tail, bringing the water-enshrouded tail down on Carbink from above. Coming down from atop his target, he managed to avoid the walls erected for defense and hit Carbink hard. It wasn't enough to finish the Fairy-type off but it did visibly shake it a bit.
“Nigel, back!” Kaya called out. As his partner returned, he spoke quietly. “Aim up and Hydro Pump.” He said as quietly as possible before he jumped in front of his Pokémon. Nigel braced himself a released the torrent of water into Kaya's back, launching him toward the cave ceiling.
“Lock!” He shouted as he summoned a construct of Fairy energy, a key-shaped dagger. Crashing down on Carbink, he plunged the energy key into the Pokémon and twisted, locking it in place with the sound of a tumbler turning over. “And capture.” He said as he took the Luxury Ball from his pocket and tapped the time-locked Jewel Pokémon on the forehead. It was drawn into the device and, with little trouble, was contained. He'd have to deal with it likely attempting to free itself once the lock wore off later but for now, it was safe to assume it captured as the Luxury Ball 'pinged' softly.
With the Carbite he'd gotten safely stored into his bag alongside the ball holding the Roseli Berry and the Flabébé petals, he decided it was about time to make the trip back to Laverre City. It took a little while to get back out of Reflection Cave, mostly because, after recalling Nigel, who had been left exhausted from trying to wear down that Carbink Kaya had caught, he'd had to rely on memory to get out of the cave and had refused to let any of his Pokémon out to battle unless he had to.
There was that one battle with the random Pokémon fan club member with the Dedenne but it had been a relatively quick battle for Constantine. He'd practically won it with a single Drill Run.
Then there were the rabid tourists who'd heard his voice when he was battling the Carbink. They weren't demanding battles but he wished they were.
“Can I have your Carbite? Please?! My little girl woult absolutely love it in a necklace.” “No!”
“How much would you charge me to buy that Carbite off you?” “Not for sale.”
“Where ever did you find the Carbink?” “Don't ask me. It was an accident.”
The questions never ceased. By the time he had reached the exit, he had a small flock of tourists behind him, still begging for either his Carbink, his Carbite or just information on where to find either for themselves. “SHUT UP!” He screamed at them, pulling his hoverboard out and tossing it into the air. “I don't have time for you people!”
He wasn't joking, either. By the time he'd gotten outside, the moon was beginning to shine high in the sky. He'd have to hurry if he wanted to get this done before next month. Kicking his hoverboard into the fastest mode it had, he rose high into the air, getting as much clearance over any people or Pokémon as he could. Making for Laverre City as the Fletchling flies, he was able to reach the small town just as the moon reached it's peak. “I don't have much time.”
Pulling a large mortar and pestle from a small shed by the side of the gym, he began to mix together the objects he had gathered. First were the three common Flabébé petals; Red, Blue and Yellow followed by the Roseli Berry. Calling out Nigel, he requested a tiny amount of fresh water. The method? A super weak Aqua Tail which did little more than collect the water in the air around him onto the bobber at the tip of his tail. Kaya collected it in his hands and dropped it into the mortar, mixing it with the ingredients already there before dropping the remaining two Flabébé petals in and mixing them in as well. And finally, he removed the Carbite from his backpack and, with a practiced hand, he began to squeeze the stone until it cracked, splintered and eventually crumbled, rubbing and squeezing at the shards until they were as dust; mixing the remaining Carbite dust into the liquid mixture in the mortar's bowl. He mixed now, and mixed and crushed, mixed and crushed and then mixed some more. As the mixture thickened, he called out his most trusted Fairy-type Pokémon capable of using the move and had Josephine infuse the mixture with the energy of her Moonblast.
The final step, the Moonblast, activated the inherent Fairy-like properties of the ingredients as well as drying out the excess water and juices in the mixture leaving it a dryish mulch. “This is it....” Kaya said quietly as he scooped up the Pixie Essence, carrying it to the base of the Great Tree and scattering it around the roots, speaking softly. “Great Tree, open up your Knothole and show me the door to the lost forest of the Fair Folk.” He prayed quietly. The ground Carbite in the Pixie Essence sparkled softly in the moonlight, reflecting the light upwards and creating a shimmering veil around the tree, which slowly parted in the middle, revealing a door which had not previously been there. “The door....”
“The entrance to the Knothole.” Valerie's voice startled Kaya as she walked up behind him. “You have succeeded where many have failed, Child of the Fairies. Sucellus must have seen your efforts from within his forest and decided to allow you inside.” She said quietly, he voice, always quiet, reflected her awe and reverence for this moment. “How I envy you. Go, Child of the Fairies. Speak with the King.”
Kaya nodded and walked forward, too awestruck to speak now. He placed his hand on the handle of the door. It was a familiar intricate pink gold thing. It fit his hand all too well. Too familiar a feeling.
“Welcome home, Kaya.”
The voice that greeted him as he opened the door and walked into the pinkish-white light was all too familiar as well. A father's voice in the midst of the storm. “Thank you, my liege.” Kaya replied, kneeling before Sucellus the moment he entered his kingdom within the Knothole, the door behind him slamming shut of it's own accord.
“No need to be so formal. You may call me Sucellus.” The Fairy King replied lifting Kaya to his feet, where the hybrid could get a better look at him.
So you made it to the Forest of Origin and thus begun your quest on mastering the magic and mystery of the Fairy type. You have met a person whose knowledge in the ways of the fay is rivaled by none, Sucellus. As you know Sucellus is the only living Master from way back during the Great War. While some Masters have found ways to sustain their spiritual presence and what not Sucellus is the only one to have retained his entire physical form. As such Sucellus holds much ancient knowledge including the horrors the world endured from that disastrous war with the Dark One. And he has witnessed from his forest the smaller (but still horrible) encounters with succeeding Dark Ones. Sucellus's entire purpose of remaining in the forest is to protect the lives of the inhabitants there, the fairies that had fled to the sanctuary. That said Sucellus has one problem after having lived there for so long...he cannot leave. He has been 'rooted in', so to speak.
The Forest of Origin is said to be the heart of all life on Earth, it is here where Xerneas sleeps in the form of a tree, his roots spreading out from the forest across the globe. Legend has it that along these roots, where they cross with one another, one can find portals to the forest, often in the form of mushrooms growing on the roots. Ordinarily these portals are so well hidden and protected by fairies that no one ever finds them, let alone crosses through. However every now and then a human will stumble through these portals and find themselves in this magical land. Lately though there have been far more crossings into the forest than Sucellus cares for, raising suspicion that this is not just a coincidence.
As part of your training Sucellus wishes for you to investigate one of these portals, to see if anything unusual is happening. However since the portals are usually very well hidden except for the most skilled eye you will have to trace the portal from its source, Xerneas, the Tree of Life. When you enter the tree you will find countless paths to take but you only want one, but don't worry Sucellus will point out which one to take. And while the roots seem impossibly small to navigate through...well you'll find out.
Now a word of warning, each individual root is a winding and confusion maze filled with Fairy Pokemon that absolutely love to play pranks on anyone who stumbles into their turf. They would surely try to confuse you and give you a hard time getting through. And one more thing to worry about, you'll have to cross the portal into the mortal world which may prove challenging as each portal has a 'boss fairy' watching it. Often times they don't care who does what but sometimes they do. Depends on the Fairy.
So there is your task, minimal police work. Fun huh?
-Objective: ---Investigate the tree root that leads to somewhere Petalburg Woods in the mortal world and see if there is anything unusual going on there.
-Opposition: ---The Fairy Pokemon that in habit the tree root, they love having guests...so to speak. ---The Boss Fairy which guards the portal in Petalburg Woods. Not sure if they are the lax or serious kind but I suppose you'll find out once you get there.
-Pokemon: ---You may catch one Fairy Pokemon.
-Rewards: ---10x Snag Coins ---The experience will allow you to gain a new hybrid move.
“Stand, my child.” Sucellus said, lifting Kaya to his feet with little effort.
“I...I can't just present myself like this....” Kaya said as he watched his feet. “You are the last living Master of the Fairy Type, after all.”
“Bah, I'm a foolish old man who's stubborn as a Gogoat and stuck in my ways. Been that way for centuries.” Sucellus laughed in response.
“How can you say that?!” Kaya demanded, finally looking up from the ground. “You're-OHGODS!” He was shocked to find the man standing before him nothing like he had pictured.
Sucellus stood before him, a shell of a man. While he appeared eternal, his form had clearly not held up against the test of time as well as he would have liked. He was gaunt in appearance, his limbs frail and withered, a mighty beard of silvery white reaching the ground from his sunken face. His robes hung loosely from his body barely keeping him covered as he held himself upright with a staff in his hands. The large ruby gem adorning the staff's top end glimmering in the gentle springtime sun flickering into the glade in which they stood.
“AHAHAHA!” Sucellus laughed heartily at Kaya's reaction. “Not quite what you pictured, Child?” He asked playfully. “I may be eternal in this place but my body hasn't held up to the centuries quite as well as I'd have liked. But the Horned God will awaken some day and I shall, with great luck, be restored to my youth for another millenium or twelve.” The wraith of a man said, his voice belying his inner youth.
“I apologize, Sucellus. My reaction was beyond uncouth.” Kaya said, his voice trembling. “Please, do not turn me away.”
“You think I would do a thing like that?” Sucellus asked, reaching out a cracking Kaya upside the head with his staff. “After I helped encourage you to get here?” He asked, utterly incredulous.
“That was....you?” Kaya asked, rubbing his ringing head.
“Indeed it was, Child.” Sucellus replied. “You are one of the very few in all my time here to seek me out. And in my state, I can't leave this place. I need eyes in the outside world and you show great potential, if a bit of an over dependence on material objects.” The ancient Channeler responded before crossing his withered legs and beginning to float across the glade. “You coming or not?” He asked of the hybrid he'd left behind.
Kaya nodded quietly and followed. “What do you mean, 'over dependence on material objects'?” He asked once he'd caught up.
“You didn't notice it when you learned Fairy Lock?” Sucellus asked Kaya. “You couldn't use any of your body's latent abilities until you had that key in your hands. You feel incomplete. You have a need for a physical completeness you believe you lack as a living creature.”
“I wouldn't go that far.....” Kaya replied a bit hesitantly. Another crack to the head from Sucellus's staff.
“You do but that isn't necessarily your own fault. You are a fusion of human and a Pokémon who is incomplete without it's prized collection.” Sucellus responded. “Klefki draw power from their keys as well as themselves. You, as a hybrid of one, possess that same need and ability.” Sucellus explained.
“I guess that makes sense.” Kaya replied.
“As such, since I have decided to train you, I will give you keys I have collected over the centuries as incentive to train hard and learn as you assist me with a few tasks I need your help with.”
“Wait, what?” Kaya asked, surprised by this turn of events.
“You heard me. I'm going to give you a new key each time I set you upon a training task. The new key will help your power grow and allow you to learn a new ability while you work to fulfill my tasks.” Sucellus replied, explaining his reasoning as well as answering Kaya's question.
“Ok. So what will you have me do for now?” Kaya asked, still following the slowly drifting master Channeler.
“I would have you get right to work.” Sucellus replied, arriving at another tree. It was nothing particularly glamorous to look at but from what Kaya could feel, it possessed a powerful presence within this forest. It had an aura of light and life and goodness.
“I feel like this tree is important.” The hybrid announced upon his approach.
“Good sense of light.” Sucellus replied. “This is the Tree of Life, the form Xerneas takes when it sleeps for a millenium. It's roots spread far and wide. They surround the whole world, in fact.” The channeler explained to his new charge. “And this tree is where your training begins. I will transport you within, where I need you to follow one of it's roots to a particular place.” He said, reaching down to the ground and tapping it with his staff.
“The Trees roots create a worldwide network, which Xerneas uses to monitor the world in case it should ever need to wake from it's slumber early and at every point where two roots cross, a Fairy Ring grows. Those Fairy Rings are portals, like the one you entered through, to this forest. Their intent is to allow Fairy Pokémon to come and go from here freely but, of late, there have been far too many non Fairy-type entries to my forest for my taste.” The millenia-old man explained, drawing a crude diagram in the soil with the foot of his staff.
“Ok. What does this have to do with me?” Kaya asked.
“I want you to investigate one of these portals for me. See if it has become exposed to the modern world and, if it has, close it for me. Doing so is as simple as disrupting the Fairy Ring.” Sucellus replied.
“Alright. I have to follow a tree root to a magic circle of mushrooms somewhere and possibly destroy it?” Kaya asked, sounding a bit skeptical.
“I wouldn't buy into disbelief, Child.” Sucellus warned. “You are the one who traveled to a magic forest by sprinkling magical fertilizer on an ancient, magical tree.” He criticized Kaya for the hybrid's lack of faith.
“Good point.” Kaya countered, walking closer to the tree h we was soon to be set within. “So where is this portal I'm supposed to be finding?”
Sucellus thought for a few moments before replying. “I believe it rests in what would be known as Petalburg Woods in the current age.” He said after the long moments of thought came to an end.
“Wow....That's a long way off.” Kaya thought aloud.
“Perhaps. But for a Fairy, time and space are irrelevant.” Sucellus responded cryptically.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Kaya asked, curious now.
“You'll learn in time, Child.” Sucellus responded. “The time to go is now, however.” The channeler responded, holding his staff over Kaya's head. Before he knew what was happening, Kaya felt a warm energy wash over him and he was engulfed in a bright light, drowning the world out of his vision. Even with his helm's darkened eyes blocking the glare, he could see nothing for several minutes. When the light finally faded, he found himself in a darkened tunnel lit by luminescent mushrooms along the walls and what appeared to be a massive table standing over him. “The key I give to you now is in there somewhere. I forgot to give it to you before sending you in.” The Fairy Master's voice rang out above him somewhere.
“Great. I have to go find a portal halfway around the world from here and my payment is a key. And apparently whatever training experience I get from performing the task.” The hybrid said to himself. “I guess the first thing I should do is look up there before I leave.” He thought looking up at the immense table-like structure looming over him.
“Anael, come on out.” He called as he released his Togekiss, climbing onto the Togekiss' back. “Up, girl.” He instructed, using the Fairy jet as an elevator. He rose up to the top of the structure over them and once he reached the top, he walked onto it, patting his Pokémon on the head in thanks for her help. “This must be it.” The hybrid said, picking up a tiny key, which appeared to be an extremely intricate golden object adorned with a garnet at the center of the head. “Fancy.” Was his only response to it's appearance before he clipped it to the keychain he had begun wearing on his right wrist.
Immediately, he felt a surge of new energy within him and he began to wonder how he might be able to let that energy out while riding Anael back to the tunnel floor. “Thanks, Anael. Let's go.” The Togekiss nodded and the two began to walk. Or Kaya walked and Anael flew after him, rather. Kaya wasn't exactly sure how he knew where he was going but he assumed this key had something to do with it. It seemed to be guiding him, in a sense.
“Be mindful of the Fairies. They like to play games!”
“They want to dance, I'll be happy to oblige.” Kaya responded to himself as he entered the tunnel-like root ahead of him. He watched the mushrooms lining the walls grow more sparse as they traveled and, slowly but surely, the tunnel grew darker as the glittering fungi grew to almost nonexistence along it's walls.
“Looks like we'll need our own source of light....” He noted to himself, more than to Anael. “You can go back to your ball for now, girl.” H told the Togekiss, recalling her before releasing his Sylveon. “Josephine, I need a Dazzling Gleam. Maintain the light but not the power.” He told her. She nodded and her bows sparkled to life with a dazzlingly bright pink light from within, which slowly spread out the lengths of their respective ribbons. This new source of light gave Josephine a rather ephemeral look, which Kaya had to admit he liked, but it's primary function did just what it was expected to. Lighting the tunnel back up around them revealed that they had entered a large chamber within the fleshy, plant-formed tunnel.
This chamber was filled with flowers of all kinds, leaving Kaya to wonder just how they grew. Being underground the way they were, he wondered if sunlight could even filter in. As if to answer his question, a light began to shine down from above him, the flowers seemingly turning their faces towards the light as if to greet it and soak up what they could get. Looking up at the sight of it, Kaya found a massive, clear gemstone in the ceiling, shimmering with what could only be described as crystallized sunlight. Beside it was a white gem, smaller in size that seemed to lack it's own light. Before long, the large gem's light faded and, in it's absence, he saw countless crystalline dots light up the ceiling, tiny diamonds sparkling like stars above them. The smaller white gem now stood out against the stark blackness immediately around it, reflecting the starstone light.
“They're....mimicking the sun, moon and stars...” The baffled hybrid noted, the moonstone fading to black by now as the sunstone began to shine once again, the flowers along the ground repeating their previous actions, turning their faces up to the light.
“Flaaaaa.” A tiny voice from the flower garden perked Kaya's ears. “I'd know that voice anywhere by now.” It was true, he would know it by virtue of the time he'd spent with the owner of said voice. Looking down and around in the field of flowers, he found a Flabébé after a moment or two of searching. “Lost your flower again already have you?” He asked, somehow recognizing the Fairy as the same one he had aided not long ago in it's search for a new flower.
“Flabé!” It exclaimed in it's defense. It hadn't been it's fault this time either. It had been attacked. “Flabébé fla bébé flaflaaaaa!” It explained.
“Attacked by a Snubull?” He questioned, crouching down to the tiny fairy's level a bit better. “Why would it attack you?” He wondered, looking it over. It didn't appear to be hurt, that much was obvious from the look of it.
“Flabébé flabé bébé fla flaaaaa bé beeeeeeee!” The tiny Pokémon proclaimed, it's harrowing tale was rather short but it was fraught with danger nonetheless. After it had gotten it's new flower, it had fled to a nearby fairy ring, going through the portal into the Forest of Origin to hide and recuperate for a while. Sadly, there was another fairy there who did not take kindly to the intrusion. Worse still, it was not a single Pokémon but a whole pack of them. The Fairy canines known as Snubull had assailed the tiny Flabébé instantly, practically obliterating it's brand new flower and sending the innocent, unintentional offender flying off into the roots of the Tree of Origin. It had, thankfully, landed here in the flower field not long after but not a single one of these flowers stood out to it as it's 'one' for now.
“Well, then. I see there are quite a lot of flowers here to pick from but I think I know why you're not finding the right one.” The hybrid said, standing up and looking around. “It's all about feeling, right?” He asked the tiny Fairy-type. She nodded and floated after Kaya. “Well....how about this one? I know you liked one like it before and this one feels special.” He told the little Flabébé.
She floated over to look at the flower in question. It was growing in a small cleared out area along a vine. It was purple with strange yellow stamens like handlebars. “It's called a maypop. It's the same kind you liked when I first met you.” He told the Pokémon, who gave it a strange look before floating over and settling atop it. She gave a small push with her chi and this one, unlike the previous maypop she'd taken a liking to, responded to her push, sparkling brightly beneath her for a moment before it simply detached from the vine upon which it grew and floated into the air, carrying it's new passenger around Kaya in a tight circle like a flowery purple flying saucer.
“Flabé!” She cheered, liking this new flower very much. “Want to join me? I'm heading towards the fairy circle in Petalburg Woods.” He told the tiny Pokémon. She nodded and floated after him as he began to walk once again. “Back to what I was saying before...Those stones are mimicking the cycle of day and night but they're going by so fast, I don't see how these flowers could be surviving.” He said to himself.
“Flabébé fla bé flafla.” Flabébé said, indicating the motion of the flowers.
“They're forgetting about time?” Kaya asked. “But how? Time is a measure of the passage of the ages.” He pointed out.
“Fla fla flabébé flabé fla fla bébé bé fla flaaaabébé.” Flabébé explained, becoming rather animated as she broke it down for Kaya.
“Time is irrelevant?” The hybrid summarized, scratching his chin a bit. “I don't know if I can just let go of the flow of time. I've used it to keep track of things my whole life.” He replied, sounding slightly defeated by the very admission.
“Flabébé bé.” Flabébé responded, giving a small smile.
“Syl sylveeee.” Josephine replied. It was true. She had indeed simply let go of time upon evolving. There was some deep, innate understanding of what it was to be a fairy that came to her with evolution.
“I guess I can try but I just don't know if I can.” Kaya replied to both of the Fairy-types. Timekeeping was something all humans did, to his knowledge. Just letting go of it and living in the moment seemed like it was impossible. Especially from the way Flabébé had explained. Don't worry about time. Just be now.
“Just be now.” He told himself, looking around the chamber they were in then looking down to the intricate key that Sucellus had given him. It glinted strangely in the light -almost as if it had a light of it's own within the garnet decorating it- catching his attention as he looked around. Abandoning the labyrinthine path to the cryptic release of time's hold upon him, the hybrid took notice of something else. He could, with his senses released from a specific focus, sense another presence nearby. Several, in fact. All clustered together.
“Snub snub bull snubbull snub snub.” “Snubbull snub. Snub snubsnub bull snubbull.” “Gran gran granbull gran bull bull granbull.”
“Flabébé!” Flabébé cried out, ducking behind Kaya at the sounds of the voices.
“Them, huh?” He asked, curious.
“Flabé!” She agreed, hidden behind his shoulder.
Taking the hint, Kaya ducked down, wriggling slightly in order to hide himself in the long-stemmed flowers all around them. Josephine followed suit, hiding herself as well. The two Snubull and their Granbull leader walked across the meadow, basking in the quickly changing lights, lying back in the flower field and looking up, watching the starstones twinkle when they shone.
“Watch this.” Kaya whispered to his companions, raising his hand just slightly out of the grass. It took a moment to find the right angle and another moment of movement to polish his skin until it was clean enough to reflect just right but he was able to use the back of his hand to reflect light from the overhead sunstone into the Granbull's eyes, blinding it.
“Grangranbull!” It complained, attempting to block the light out. With it's eyes blocked, Kaya tossed a rather shiny rock laying beside him towards the Snubbull, causing one of them to pick it up, curious where it came from. He'd removed his hand from sight at about the same time, leaving Granbull to conclude that it's pre-evolved lackey had blinded it. “Gran granbull bull gran granbull grangran!” It barked, taking the rock in it's mouth and snapping it in half with a single bite. A necessary show of force in the event one of it's underlings was trying to cause problems.
“Snub snub!” The offended Fairy Pokémon grumbled, crossing it's somewhat stubby arms and flopping back into the grass.
Once again, Kaya's hand poked out of the grass and flowers, casting light into the Granbull's eyes. Blinded for the second time, Granbull began to thrash about, searching for the source of it's blindness. Coming across it's second lackey, which had just picked up the small mirror Kaya had tossed toward it after blinding Granbull, it threatened the second Snubbull with less a show of force and more of a simple threat. Taking the mirror and hurling as far as it could, it turned back to it's minion with thunder crackling along it's fangs. “Gran. Gran. Bull.” It warned, slowly.
With the trio at arms and each others throats from the look of it, Kaya decided that this would be the last time he played a trick on them. They'd either turn on each other or he'd have to get up and fight them properly to avenge Flabébé's flower. As soon as Granbull had lain back down, Kaya's hand shot out of the flowers for the last time. He didn't know it then but it would be, for certain. As soon as he caught the light and began to reflect it, his thoughts on battle, the light on his hand suddenly shrank into a fine pinprick of photons hanging in empty space. Startled by this, he grabbed it in his hand and pulled the minute construct down into the flowers to examine. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Just a miniscule thing. Like the eye of a needle but made of pure light with little to no emission. “How strange....” He said to himself before holding it in his open palm and blowing against it like a dandelion seed. It sailed upward, high into the air, where it hung for a second as if consciously deciding which way it would blow in the nonexistent breeze in the cavernous underground meadow. And then, with a violent beauty, it exploded in a shower of light and pink sparks, as if now reflecting off of space itself.
Not expecting this sudden, violent show of light, Kaya started, jumping to sit straight up and stare at it. He realized, as he did, just how good of a thing it was that he had a helmet with darkened lenses over his eyes built in. The objections from the canines nearby was enough to remind him of their presence, however, and when the light from his bungled attempt at reflection faded, he found all three had spotted him and his companions and were approaching fast.
Sending out his Marill and his Klefki, he motioned Josephine forward. Three on three. He liked that idea. The two Snubbull ganged up on Sora with fangs ablaze, leaving the Klefki pincered between them. “Nigel, Aqua Tail!” He directed, watching the Marill bat the duo away with his tail coated in a whorl of wild waves.
The Granbull, seeing that the Marill was a threat, decided to deal with it on it's own, fangs flashing dangerously with the crackle of lightning. “Sora, Play Rough!” Kaya instructed, giving his little keyring the freedom to have fun. The little dragonslayer had it's way, tucking and rolling, jingling and tackling, dragging Granbull into a classic cartoonish fight cloud for a few seconds before the canine was violently ejected, crashing into it's partners in crime. Sadly, Sora hadn't reached it in time and Nigel was whimpering and pouting as it sat on the ground, clearly hurting a bit. Granbull and it's lackeys didn't stay down for long, though.
Granbull, seeing that it's enemies were not uncoordinated, decided that it's ally should be speed. Clicking it's fangs together it released a bolt of electricity in a sweeping wave forward. The Shockwave moved fast and, while it didn't necessarily hurt Sora a lot, it did it's job. The Klefki cringed slightly as the electricity moved through it's metal body, leaving it blind to the incoming double Fire Fang once again. Nigel tried to defend him once more but his own body locked up, leaving him incapable of even standing. That Thunder Fang earlier had managed to leave him fighting paralysis. “Josephine! Swift!” Kaya called. The Sylveon nodded and conjured several star shaped beams of energy into existence, the lot of them shooting across the makeshift battlefield like comets, shattering on impact with their targets, the damage done. The two Snubbull were knocked to the ground easily, having jumped to try and reach Sora, who was hovering high off the ground.
“Josephine, Heal Bell.” Nigel needed the soothing sound to recover. Josephine nodded and began to radiate a soothing, healing energy from her bows, a sound like church bells filling the air as the healing waves did their work. Nigel jumped up after a moment, feeling rejuvenated now that he could move once again.
“Gran?” “Snub?” “Bull?”
The trio of fairy canines flopped back into the grass and flowers, looking up at the “sky” above them. “Hang on a second, weren't we just battling?” Kaya demanded of them.
“.....” Kaya shook his head in disbelief for a moment before he recalled something from way, way back. When Josephine had first evolved. “I forgot you could do that. Lykas' Milotic can do that same thing, right?” He asked his Sylveon. Josephine nodded. “I don't know why I can't remember that special ability of yours when it would actually come in handy. Like now by accident.” Kaya responded with a small laugh.
“Anyway, we really messed this place up so let's try and fix it up a little before we get going, ok?” He asked of his partners.
“Flabébé!”
“Oh, hey! I thought you might have run off when the fighting started. Not exactly many places to hide out here, after all.” The hybrid laughed, indicating the lack of anything much larger than a tulip in the field.
“Flabébé flabé fla flabé bé.”
“I see. Want to help?”
“Flabé!”
Grinning at the tiny fairy's excitement and enthusiasm, Kaya lowered it toward the ground as he knelt and, with his partners retrieving as many flowers as they could find that had been uprooted during their battling a few moments ago, he carefully returned them to the soil in an upright position. As ever flower was replanted, Flabébé offered to the soil a weak Moonblast. The flowers all perked a little bit after the hit of chi, silently accepting the gift of light given them.
“So you're not going to finish battling me?” He finally asked of the fairy canines who were still lying prostrate in the flowers nearby.
“Snub.” “Gran.” “Bull.”
“Ok.” Kaya responded. That was plenty enough answer for him. He continued to replant the flowers for a while and, when he felt that he was done, he got up, recalled Nigel and Sora and started to walk again. “I feel....something from over in that direction.” He told himself, looking towards the farthest end of the flower meadow cave, where he could just barely see a tiny cave opening in the wall. As he neared, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning to look, expecting Flabébé, he found nothing. Assuming it had been his imagination. He resumed his trek, feeling a tap on his opposite shoulder. Turning to look, once again expecting to see Flabébé, again, there was nothing there.
Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2015 2:07 am
Fairy Master Mission 2 “Spriiii.”
“The heck?!” Kaya whipped around at the sound. It was small and sweet and came with an enticing smell drifting through the air. The sweetest, most alluring scent filled the air around him and he found himself losing sense of where he was. It would seem that Josephine and Flabébé were just as lost in the aroma, though he wouldn't know it yet.
“Zee?”
“Hello.” The hybrid greeted, his sense of self nearly gone.
“Spritzee!”
“I'm Kaya.” He said calmly, the small voice enticing him to answer it's introduction with his own.
“Spritz spritz!” The owner of the voice declared, revealing itself at last. The Spritzee's Disarming Voice hurt the hybrid's heart subtly. He barely felt it but the damage was done by now. Spritzee's Sweet Scent faded quickly, releasing the hybrid from it's scintillating hold.
“Wow! Aren't you the cutest thing ever?” Kaya said to the Fairy-type, coming back to his senses at last. He reached out to rub it's milky-white “beak”(He assumed it was a beak, at least), causing it to trill happily at the attentions.
That Disarming Voice earlier had left the Klefki hybrid vulnerable. At the moment, he couldn't resist the desire for physical contact. Luckily, Flabébé had caught on to the other Fairy's plan. It was weak, from the look of it and the way Kaya was rubbing it's face..
“I don't feel well....” Kaya muttered. “Let me sit down.” He told Spritzee, lowering himself to the ground, sitting cross-legged and holding his arm to his side, where Spritzee quickly snuggled into the crook of his elbow. Kaya resumed his petting until Flabébé acted, floating down in front of him. “Flabé.” She warned, holding her flower in front of herself for a moment before a blizzard of purple flower petals erupted from it, each with a sharp edge that cut into Spritzee, driving it out of Kaya's grasp in a hurry. The hybrid, however, was mostly unharmed by the leaves. His skin was a bit scuffed but he was otherwise fine, physically. He was still a bit dazed both mentally and emotionally, the effects of Spritzee's alluring aromas still present in his head and his heart healing from it's plucking at it's strings.
“Bébé! Flabé bébé fla flabé!”
“Spritz spritz zee zee spritz spriiiii.” Spritzee responded, it's eyes narrowing. It was done playing games. Eyes shining bright blue, it released an immense Psychic push, blasting Kaya and his two Pokémon companions into the tunnel ahead of them, the trio falling down a long, narrow shaft that ranched off one side of it at an upward angle.
Along the fall, Kaya came back to himself, realizing that he, Josephine and Flabébé were falling. “GAAAAAAAH!” Though Josephine tried to grab something several times, the object(mostly roots and the occasional mushroom) always ripped downward and out of her grasp. Kaya had seen it, trying to hold onto her as he pawed at these objects, something entering his mind after the last attempt.
“Are we falling up? He asked aloud, bewildered somewhat by the thought. The fall wasn't going anywhere, either. It was becoming apparent that the same handful of obstacles was passing them by repeatedly. “I'm tired of this already.....” The hybrid finally said after several minutes of endless “falling”.
“Josephine, help me with something, here. I think I know what I did earlier and you can do it too. Tell me how you use Dazzling Gleam.” The idea was that if they weren't going anywhere for the moment, he may as well figure out how to repeat his performance earlier.
“Syl sylvee veee eon syl sylveon veee on eon vee syl veesyl syl eon.” Josphine explained. The principle was basic enough. Compress inner light into a specific location and release a lot of it, slowly. Kaya had compressed outer light and released it all at once earlier, producing the explosion that had rocked the daystone chamber..
“Sounds simple enough.” Kaya said after his Pokémon was done explaining. Deciding to try his hand at the move intentionally this time, he focused on his inner light. Opening the door to his heart, he released the energy within, trying to force as much as possible into as small a space as he could. It took a while but he managed to recreate that tiny glowing spark like he had before, holding it hovering over the palm of his hand. This time, instead of letting it all go at once, he let the light out slowly, the tiny diamond spark flashing brilliantly in shades of blue, pink, lavender and periwinkle.
The light from the Dazzling Gleam struck on the roots and mushrooms that kept passing them by and, with the fairy's presence proven, their endless fall slowed.
“Welcome!”
“Wait, what?!”
“Welcome to the Petalburg portal.”
“Bull.” Kaya stated plainly. He didn't buy that for a moment.
“How can you be so certain in a place like this?” The one speaking revealed himself, rounding a corner ahead of them at last.
“I can't be sure of anything here. Everything's some crazy kind of different down here.” Kaya started. “But I have my Pokémon and they can be. Josie says we're in the wrong place, I believe her.”
“I see. You trust in your partner more than in yourself, do you?” The other male asked. Kaya got a good look at him now, his feet settling onto the ground at the top of the odd tunnel he'd fallen up. He was around the same height with black hair bearing a single, diagonal white stripe along the right side. The most remarkable feature, however, was the fact that he had heterochromia as well. His right eye was a honey color and his left one emerald green.
“You....have the same kind of eyes.” Kaya said upon seeing it, ignoring his question for the moment. “I've never met anyone else like me....”
“Huh? You're being weird.” The man said, taking a small step backwards, Kaya's transfixed gaze making him uncomfortable. “Anyway, you should be more confident in yourself. You have the ability to navigate this place on your own if you'll actually try.”
It took another moment or two for Kaya to break away from staring endlessly at the other male's eyes but he had heard what was said to him.”How? I'd have more confidence if I actually knew what to do. More importantly, Who are you?”
The man smirked now. “My name is Derryn Marcellus. I've been a pupil of Sucellus' for years.” He explained. “And there's Titania.” He added as a Sprizee floated past Kaya's shoulder and up to Derryn. “Where have you been, girl?”He asked her.
“Sprii sprii!” The Pokémon replied.
“I guess she's been hazing you, hm?” He asked Kaya after petting the feathery fairy with the face of an adorable daemon.
“You could say that.” Kaya replied, giving the fairy a spiteful look now that he had recovered somewhat from the creature's bewitchment earlier.
“I would apologize on her behalf but I'm actually glad that she did so it would be reather insincere. You can see why I won't, yes?” Derryn asked.
“In a sense, I can. It'd still be nice of you, even if it was a lie.” Kaya responded, holding out a hand tostop Flabébé and Josephine, both wanting to jump forward and pick a fight.
“That's the thing about Fairies, though. While they may be playful and benevolent, or sometimes spiteful and malevolent they are anything but insincere. Fairies always mean what they say.” Derryn replied calmly. “And while you and I may not be fairies in the same sense as they-” Here he stopped for a moment to sweep a hand through the air and indicated their Pokémon, “-are but we should strive to be more like them.”
“Sounds like someone's joined Valerie's little flock of Mareeple. 'Act like a fairy to be a fairy' and whatnot. I don't buy that. Fairies are just as varied as we, as human beings, are and while I agree we should follow the lead of the benevolent ones in regards to sincerity sometimes being sincere isn't a good course of action.” Kaya countered, reaching to his back and lowly drawing Rise from it's sheath. “But I think it's time that we got this over with. Your Pokémon attacked me and stole my energy and now you come around preaching whatever nonsense this is about sincerity? I've had enough.”
Derryn shook his head and motioned Titania aside. “Then let us pit the skills we have obtained against one another? Sucellus will only allow one of us to further their training. Whomever completes the task of investigating and sealing the portal.”
“I don't buy that, either.” Kaya replied, holding the cobalt longsword forward, the pink diamonds inlaid down the center of the blade glinting softly.
“Think what you will. I've known Sucellus personally for far longer than you have even been aware of his existence.” Derryn countered, drawing from a holster upon his own back a staff that appeared something like a shepherd's crook except it appeared to be decorated with a horn at the top. Was that a Stantler's antler?
“You brought a stick to sword fight?” Kaya asked before lunging forward, his blade already in motion.
“It's not just any stick.” Derryn assured, deftly blocking the sword strike with the short staff. Looking now, it was more like a rod, probably only just slightly too long to be used as a cane. It was easily handled with one hand. Surprised by the ability to block his sword, Kaya pulled back and brought the blade around at a different angle, hoping for a better shot. Once again, the blade was blocked bysome miracle.
This fruitless exchange went on for some time, Kaya's every attempt at attacking blocked by the mystical stick held by his enemy. It wasn't until they'd fought for nearly half an hour that Kaya finally caught a glimpse of it, the magical process through which his strikes were blocked. Each time his sword met Derryn's stick, a glittering blue veil appeared between the two, only just barely wide enough to not be cut apart by his attack and vanished the instant the two released their contact.
“You're using your channeling to defend yourself?” The hybrid finally asked.
“It took you long enough. You'll never learn anything if you can't be more observant than that.” Derryn chided. “It's called a Boggart Shield. It's a channeling ability I've learned that manifests my energy as an adaptive shield to block attacks. You'll never hit me.”
“Hm. We'll see.” The channeler might be right. Only one way to find out. Drawing out his inner light, he threw a spark towards the other male.
“What is this? It's pathetic.” Derryn scoffed, looking down his nose at the little speck of light.
“I'd call it a distraction.” Kaya said as he ran forward, sword at the ready.
“Not happening.” Derryn replied, a glittering blue kite shield appearing to block the blade's advance.
“Who said I was distracting you from me?” Kaya asked, releasing the energy within that speck of light a vicious explosion of dazzling light and sparks.
“Gah!” The Channeler attempted to shield his eyes but it was to no avail. The source of the light was too close and too bright to fully defend himself against it. Blinded by the flash, he failed to see Kaya swing around, bringing the flat side of his sword across his shoulders.
“You are not going to stop me!” He exclaimed, knocking the other male to the ground in a single blow.
“Ugh..Fine...just go.” Derryn replied, rubbing at his eyes to clear the flashing spots from his vision.
“That was easier than expected...” Kaya commented as he sheathed his sword, turning to walk away.
“This isn't over between us.” Derryn declared, standing up. Though he could barely focus his eyes on where he was looking, he thrust a hand forward, throwing a blob of glittering, dust-like energy toward Kaya like a bullet. Favor was not shining on the channeler, however, as the attack simply blurred past Kaya and struck the wall nearby, exploding into a harmless shower of dust.
“Sure it's not.” Kaya remarked, continuing on his way with Josephine and Flabébé at his sides.
Leaving Derryn and his conniving Spritzee behind, Kaya began to see the world around him more clearly. Something about that encounter had changed the way he saw this realm. Maybe it was what he'd said? Maybe it was the simple fact that he had further tapped his inner light?
Regardless he began to see not a simple tunnel with luminescent mushrooms along the walls but an elaborate corridor lined with immense arched windows. The windows let him see out into the world outside the Tree of Origin's roots and, at last, he could see where he was. From the look of it, he was indeed in the Hoenn region at last but he had been right about not being in Petalburg yet. If he was even slightly right, it looked like he was somewhere around Fortree City. “I'll have to keep going and head southwest as soon as I can.” He told himself, looking out at the city, realizing only now that he was looking at the city from underneath.
“Is this how you've been seeing this place all along?” He finally asked Josephine. “So...I really have been blind to the world my whole life.” It was nothing special, really. Nothing that wasn't to be expected. When a child's eyes open to the world for the first time and they see more than darkness, they scream for fear of the new, bright world. In Kaya's case, he didn't scream. He didn't shout. He didn't make a noise at all for a long time afterword. He simply walked in silence, awed by the fact he only just now had begun to truly see the world. After a while, he finally opened his mouth and spoke once again. “So now that I can see the world like this...Are there really things in this world that are beyond the sight of normal people?”
“Syl syl vee.” Josephine replied, nodding calmly.
“And I can see them now?” Kaya asked. The newly seen root/corridor in which they traveled showed him intricate paintings from time to time, revealing artworks long lost to normal mortals, painted in such detail he wasn't sure how they could possibly have been crafted.
“Sylvee syl eon.” Josephine responded. Not everything could be seen now but that which was of their ilk would be as obvious to him now that he had at last opened his eyes as everything else had been before.
“I see.” The world outside the windows warped past in flashes of color until the hybrid found himself standing before a door. The window on one side showed Petalburg City and the one just on the other side showed the path leading toward Rustboro City. “This must be the portal to the woods from this side....” He thought aloud, opening the door. The corridor filled with a bright, natural light and, looking out through it, Kaya found himself staring out into the depths of a forest.
“Whimsi!” The door was blocked before Kaya could step through it, not by closing on him or by having a body thrown between him and the other side. Not exactly at least. Rather, a huge mass of cotton fluff stuffed the doorframe, shoving him backwards and back into the corridor.
“Whathehell?!” Kaya demanded from where he lay on the ground, fighting to get back up. He found the cotton fluff expanding out of the doorframe and moving towards him, attempting to swallow him up. “Get off!” He commanded, pushing at the fluff with his legs to free himself.
“Cott cott whimsi.” A little ball of fluff crawled out of the mass in the door, giving Kaya a curious look. The Whimsicott's curious golden eyes roved over him and his two companions for a moment before it began to glow, growing slightly at the same time.
“Flabé?”
“That looks like Growth.” Kaya replied to the little single bloom Pokémon.
“Whimsicott Whimsi!” The little Pokémon coughed violently for a moment or two before speaking again. “Sorry. I haven't spoken to a human in quite a long time.” He said calmly, his voice very smooth. “I take it you're here to go through the portal into the forest, right? Not allowed. Humans are forbidden from using it.”
Kaya was completely flabbergasted by the little Fairy cottonball's ability to speak the human language so much that he was unable to respond at first. Whimsicott simply stood there and waited. He didn't appear to be violent just defensive. After a moment or two of uselessly flapping his lips, Kaya managed to form an answer. “The thing is....I'm not entirely human. I'm part Pokémon, just like you and just like you I'm part Fairy-type. I have every right to pas through that portal. I probably have more right than most since Sucellus sent me here himself.”
“Sucellus? The Fairy King?”Whimsicot asked, snickering. “He may be called King but he has no power here. This is the realm of the Horned God, Xerneas, not the forest of that self-righteous mortal.” He laughed, his ody beginning to glow once again, growing larger still.
“Then I guess that means I have to kick your fluffy butt to get through to the other side there, huh?” Kaya finally asked after a moment of silence. “Since you don't respect Sucellus, who happens to have just recently become my mentor, I'll have to defend his honor in his absence.” He added.
“Have it your way if you want. You won't get through here until I'm completely beaten. And I'll tell you now, I'm stubborn!” Whimsicott replied, taking a fighting stance, glowing once again as his body began to grow.
“I've noticed. You've also been passively using Growth through this entire exchange to prepare for my inevitable determination to fight.” Kaya replied, conjuring a construct of Fairy energy. A dagger shaped like a key.
“Yes, I have. And now it's time for you to lose.” Whimsicott replied, summoning a gust of wind from out of nowhere, blowing in from behind it. A Tailwind. Jumping into action, Kaya found the little fluffy creature moving incredibly fast. It shot past him with ease, hitting him in the back with a Seed Bomb before he could even track its movement. The hybrid was knocked forward half a step.
“Get back here!” Kaya demanded, spinning around just in time to see the little fluffball zoom past once again, another Seed Bomb thrown his way. This one was aimed at his feet. Stumbling once again, the hybrid was forced to let himself fall. Rolling across the ground when he hit, he found himself face-to-face with Whimsicott. He made to stab it with his key-dagger but it was gone just as fast as it had appeared.
“You're not getting me that easy.” Whimsicott taunted, whistling past yet again to hit him in the chest with a Seed Bomb. Those things were starting to hurt. And Whimsicott was starting to slow down.
“Maybe not but don't think I won't get you.”Kaya responded, growling in irritation. This was getting him nowhere in a hurry. Abandoning the Fairy Lock dagger, he thrust a hand into the air, the space in his palm sparking for a moment as he compressed the light both within and around him together. The surrounding area grew slightly darker as he drew in the light for his attack, his annoyance with Whimsicott allowing him to completely miss the renewal of the wind from behind him. Whimsicott was coming in for another attack. He almost felt the change in the area when the other Fairy got close enough to attack. It's energy becoming a blip on the radar of his senses. He didn't know for sure where it was coming from but it was coming. And so it was time to turn the tide of this battle. Releasing the compressed light all at once, it exploded outward in a dazzling flash.
“AAAH!” Whimsicott screamed as it eyes were scorched by the intense light, slamming them shut just in time to hit the nearest wall.
“You're done!” Kaya exclaimed, conjuring forth his key-dagger once again, racing forward to plunge it into the no-longer-tiny fluffball that was protecting this portal.
“Not even!” Whimsicott shouted back, it's fluffy body expanding immensely, swallowing up Kaya's attempted Fairy Lock without it ever truly making contact. The Cotton Guard left the hybrid buried shoulder-deep in teddy bear stuffing, fighting to get out of the mass as quickly as he could. Whimsicott summoned up another Tailwind now, using it whisk itself away and out of sight. How could it possibly move so fast?
“The door!” Kaya finally realized. It was still open and, though it was mostly blocked by the Pokemon's cotton fluff, bright, natural sunlight leaked through and around the stuff. “It's ability must be Chlorophyll.” He determined, drawing Rise from its sheath. This time, he was determined to put it to better use than before. He briefly sensed a source of Fairy chi coming towards him and turned Rise's broad side toward the source. Just in the knick of time, too. The incoming Seed Bomb struck the blade, causing it to violently vibrate but, thanks to the inlaid diamonds it resisted breaking under the attack. Kaya never even truly saw Whimsicott this time, it was gone so fast.
Turning back to the door, Rise still vibrating rapidly, he swung the blade diagonally, the vibrations allowing it to act almost like a buzzsaw, cutting straight through most of the fluff in one go. Another swing, the opposite direction now. The remainder fell away! Kaya dropped his sword for an instant, grabbing the door with both hands and slamming it shut. The sunlight cut off from the corridor, Whimsicott suddenly became visible again. It was still fast thanks to that Tailwind but at least now he could fight it properly. “I figured out your trick.” He pointed out to the Fairy. “Guard the door. Don't let him reopen it.” He told Josephine. Flabébé nodded along with her and both remained at the opening, prepared to protect the thing from Whimsicott at any cost.
“You want light? Try this!” Kaya shouted, throwing his hands together and quickly forming a spark, it gleaming dazzlingly in the now darkened tunnel/corridor. Whimsicott was blinded once again, surprisingly. To be smart enough to pull off that trick with the sunlight and Tailwind, he fell for the same move twice, now. “Time to stay down!” The hybrid called, conjuring not one but three of his Fairy Lock key daggers. Instead of attempting to run down and pierce the fairy fluff, he grabbed them one by one and threw them toward the Pokémon.
“Not. Yet. You don't!” Whimsicott declared, hopping into the air and floating slowly just over the Hybrid's attack. It's Tailwind still in effect, it attempted to beat the Klefki hybrid's Pokémon to the door in order to fling it open again. Flabébé saw it first and launched a Petal Blizzard, sending wave after cascading wave of purple flower petals toward the incoming Windveiled Pokémon. Unable to see clearly through the Petal Blizzard, Whimiscott ended up charging headlong into a Moonblast from Josephine. Literally blindsided by the attack, it was launched by the force back toward Kaya, who was ready after seeing it whiz past him. The Fairy-type hit the ground, bounced twice and landed in a pile of fluff as it used Cotton Guard to stop itself at last. And, buried within its own stuffing, it failed to see Kaya coming at it. His steps slow and casual, to avoid alerting it, he finally was able to plunge a Fairy Lock key into it's chest, the tumbler-turning sound signifying that it was locked in place for the time being.
“Finally. It's time we got out of here and ended this training mission. I may have learned a new move during all this but I don't seem to have really gotten the point of the training....” Walking through the door now, Whimsicott screaming what he assumed were the Pokémon equivalent of obscenities, he led Josephine and Flabébé into Petalburg Woods. Giving it only a moment's thought, Kaya decided how to destroy the ring. But first he needed to investigate so he closed the still visible door tight, hit it with a small Fairy Lock, unsure how much it would do and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not wont to open again for him no matter how hard he tried after.
“Can't believe that actually worked...” He told himself as he began to walk around the forest nearby. It didn't look like much was going on, really. He, Flabébé and Josephine were standing in a clearing somewhere deep in the forest. The only things that appeared to be nearby were a few Shroomish wandering innocently by, a Slakoth hanging lazily from a branch up in the canopy, a collection of Wurmple and a Paras or two having a conversation of some sort and a lone Phantump hiding in the shadows all by itself, staring creepily at him.
“Doesn't look like much is going on here to really worry about.” He told himself, watching for a while longer, beginning to suspect that he could simply leave the ring as it was and go back to Sucellus. That is, until he heard a voice not far away. Something tiny and feminine.
“Oh, come back, Pix!” A tiny little Mime Jr. wandered into view from not far off, heading toward the fairy ring.
“Mime mime mime mime.” It chanted calmly, the mushrooms glowing as the door Kaya had locked reappeared within it, swinging open slowly all on it's own. Mime Jr. headed through it without ever slowing down.
“Pix, wait!” That tiny voice again. A little girl came running into view, a walking stick in one hand and a large, home made hat atop her head. She was heading for the ring. He couldn't risk letting her see that door and getting through it.
“Sora! Flash Cannon, raze the mushrooms and destroy the circle.” He quietly instructed, clearly in a hurry. He jumped up and, as quickly as he could without being seen, unleashed a Dazzling Gleam. The little girl, blinded by the sudden bright light but enticed by it's pretty appearance, slowly walked toward it, eyes squinted to avoid extra damage to them, “ooh”ing and “aahh”ing with nearly every step. So enticed she was by the dazzlingly bright speck sparkling in front of her that she completely tuned out the whistling blast of light fired by the Klefki in the clearing ahead of her and the light she was following.
Just as fast as the light appeared, it was gone. Running forward now to find out where it had gone, she found nothing. A burnt-looking circle in the grass was all that told her anything ever even came her. “Awwww!” She groaned, saddened by losing her fairy friend in the forest and what she wanted to call a shiny treasure. “Lulu! Child, it's time to go home. Your mother will kill me if you're hurt.” A woman's voice called out, causing the little girl to start and dash away in it's direction. Along the way, she spotted a little blue and white rodent running off. “Huh.... That Pachirisu looks familiar.” She said, positive she knew it from somewhere before she was disappeared back into the forest.
Up in the treetops, Kaya was riding on Anael's back, olding onto the Pokeballs belonging to Sora and Josephine, having barely traded them for the Togekiss and getting out of view. “Phew. That was too close. I guess humans and non-Fairy-types could find the portal too easily.” He muttered before turning to Flabébé, who was on his shoulder again.
“You were a big help through all this. Would you like to join me and my friends?” He asked her. The Flabébé thought for a moment before nodding. Taking a Great Ball from his pocket, he held it up and Flabébé tapped the button, disappearing inside in a flash. The Ball shook only once before locking, Flabébé not bothering to fight it. “I'll tell you later but I've been wanting to call you Ophelia since I met you.” He told the Ball in his hand. “Let's get back to Sucellus, girl.” He finally aid to Anael, placing the Pokeballs for his previous two Pokémon onto his belt and the new one into his bag for the time being.
~Several days later
“So what exactly was the point of all of that again?” Kaya asked Sucellus, sitting in the forest with his once again.
“Several things, actually.” Sucellus replied. “I knew the Fairy-types in that particular region had become rather uncooperative with me but the real reason was to gauge just how quickly you can learn with no true direction. Now that I see what you can do, I have an idea how to better train you.” Sucellus replied.
“Ok. And what about that Derryn guy?” Kaya asked, taking a drink from the tea cup in his hand.
“He has been a student of mine for some time now but he seems to take much longer to learn new skills and abilities. He has been here for roughly six years but he has learned only three abilities. While in your endeavors over the course of only a week or so, you have learned two.” Sucellus responded calmly. “To be honest, I would hope that the two of you might work together in order to help the both of you but it would seem that Derryn is not receptive of the idea.”
“I can't say I'm too thrilled about it either but if you think it'll help either of us, I can't say I'm in a position to argue with the master.” Kaya responded with a small grin.
“That is what I believe makes me like you. You are honest about your feelings but you are willing to try and let your heart be swayed.” Sucellus responded. “That is good for us. Those of the Fairy-type or persuaded toward it's alignment are both guided and empowered by their hearts. But for now, rest. If you wish to re-enter my forest for further training, you may now simply use a burst of Fairy energy upon the tree in order to open the door. It knows you and will allow you in at your discretion now.”
“Thank you, Master Sucellus. I'll come back as soon as I've rested a while.” The hybrid assured, setting down his cup before standing and preparing to leave. With a wave of his hand, Sucellus opened the door out of the forest and watched Kaya go.
((Special note: Shadow Moves count as Extra Moves for me. I give Pokemon a normal moveset and add the Shadow moves on top of those.))
”SubonicXP”
Ghost Master Mission Stage 4
The Fourth Circle
Three circles conquered thus far. Your journey ahead is still long but you mustn't despair. For your next challenge you must brave the next circle of The Underworld, the Fourth Circle, Greed. This however will be your last time having the gateway to The Underworld opened for you but we'll get to that later.
The Fourth Circle is a land filled with endless riches consisting of the material wealth of its greedy inhabitants. The dwellers of the fourth circle are those people who have spent their lives living in avarice and miserly. All the hoarders, the recklessly wasteful, anyone whose appetite for material gain could not be sated. The desire to always have more. Here they are forced to work underneath the circle's master, mining gold, smelting riches, and the like. The irony is just touching gold repulses these souls, it burns their hands now and makes their stomachs churn, and yet they are forced to work with them. It's also said that the masks of Yamask are made here.
The land itself consists of a vast mountain range said to be bursting with precious gems and metal. It rains silver and hails diamonds. A single massive river runs through the land, a river of pure liquid gold, cool to the touch and yet stays in liquid form. Legend has it that this river, named The Desire, is home to the poor souls pulled into this world by the Pokemon Cofagrigus, those greedy men and women who would rob tombs. The legend goes on that these twisted souls, that are said to be in the form of what hides inside of Cofagrigus, desire nothing more than to return to the mortal world, but they need a sarcophagus to do so. To make their coffins they prey on the souls that get too close to the river, compressing their souls into gold and hoarding it until they have enough.
Your goal here is a twofer, for you see there slumbers an item here that will allow you to transport yourself to The Underworld on your own. That's right, your goal is to obtain an Obol, a small token needed as payment to ride the River Styx. Yes, the very same one. You see, the River Styx runs very deep into the Underworld, in fact it runs through the entire place, however payment is needed to be ferried across and only truly powerful souls can go deeper and deeper, or else the time spent on the river would drive them mad. Ordinarily only the dead receive the Obol needed to ride the river, but here you can get one without needing to you know, die. We'll talk more about this river if you survive this.
The master of the fourth circle is named Maemen, the Golden Prince A terrible Cofagrigus hybrid whose desire for riches is endless. It's said that he was once a greedy prince who made a deal with Giratina to rule over this circle. Maemen rules this circle with an iron fist and forces the souls here to work towards increasing his wealth. His greed is so great that he has hoarded all the Obol coins ever created, however he is forced to part with one every time a person passes, much to his annoyance. When Maemen isn't mesmerized by his riches he is forcing his slaves to fight each other at his colosseum. Here he encourages souls to form teams of three to fight against each other in a tournament. The last team standing then is given a chance to win the grand prize; anything they desire. No one has ever won as Maemen knows that true teamwork in this circle is impossible as their greed will eventually get the best of them. Only one team ever came out on top and Maemen made them fight his Gilded Golurk, a massive Golurk made of gold, silver, and adorned with precious gems including one massive ruby that serves as its single eye. Needless to say they lost but Maemen promised he would keep his end of the deal if they could defeat it.
Your lucky in that trying to obtain an Obol also runs you across your next task in order to conquer this circle, and that is to redeem one soul. When you go to enter the tournament you must make a team consisting of yourself and two other souls. You must search the land for two partners, ones that hopefully want stab you in the back. In doing so you must see to it that one is redeem of their greed. They'll never leave this circle but you can help them lift the weight of their greed and at least make their eternity more peaceful. By doing this you prove your worth.
-Objective: ---Have Amaya send you to The Underworld one last time. ---Search the Fourth Circle, Greed for two partners to join you in Maemen's tournament. ---Win the tournament and defeat the Gilded Golurk in order to win an Obol coin. ---During your trial you must also redeem one soul here.
-Opposition: ---The enslaved spirits may desire anything you have and of course may attack. ---The Desire river (an offshoot of the Styx) is filled with the spirits contained inside of Cofagrigus. Get to close and they attack. Furthermore if one drop of the river's gold gets on your spirit you are marked and they will hunt you down. ---Any other teams you face in the tournament. ---The Gilded Golurk. Incredibly powerful and durable.
-Pokemon: ---The redeemed soul may be brought back if you find a Yamask's mask for it and thus brought back with you as a Yamask.
Cadenza Ability: Wonder Guard Silver Wind Phantom Force Telekinesis Double Team
Adagio Ability: Flash Fire Inferno Hex Minimize Haze
Dissonance Ability: Iron Fist Stomping Tantrum Shadow Punch Iron Defense Gravity Shadow Pit +6 Hyper Meter
Affanoso Ability: Levitate Night Shade Infestation Disable Dark Pulse
Entr'Acte Ability: No Guard Shadow Claw Night Slash Swords Dance Autotomize
Bass Ability: Levitate Heal Pulse Heal Bell Yawn Light Screen
Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:11 pm
With his favorite means of transportation currently in a very....unhealthy state of being, Odd was wary of taking him along to see Amaya. However, with the state of Hoenn lately, it would be wise to bring the Purified and current Shadow Pokemon he had with him along for the trip. Just in case he had to battle any of the beasties. With that decided, he chose to bring along Dissonance, anyway, if only to battle, should the need arise. The remaining slots in his team would be filled by Cadenza, whom was his favorite and most reliable channeling partner. And also the only one able to enter the Otherworld with him thus far, Adagio, whom he trusted with his life, and Bass, who would serve several functions if needed, with Entr’Acte and Affonoso filling the last two so they could get some experience battling, if he got the chance to work with them.
Making sure all of his Pokemon were together and he was ready to go, he made one quick stop before leaving. It was incredibly risky to do so and he knew it. If Sub found out or if he was caught by Nebu, he could very well be risking his life. But someone he knew desperately needed what he was about to procure. Hitching a ride up from Claydol, the Channeler Teleported to Nebu's shop and began to browse around. He knew that Sub had made it available to them but required purchase because of the limited quantity of the stuff so it had to be here.
"Hello, Odd. Can I help you find anything?" Nebu asked from his place behind the counter.
"No. No. I'm just browsing at the moment. Wondering if you had anything new in that I might want to save up for." Odd replied, careful to keep himself from sounding suspicious.
"Very well. If you see anything you like, it's all yours for.... a few pieces...of delicious....gold....." The hybrid reminded, his mouth already watering at the thought of Odd's delectable Snag Coins.
Unfortunately for the shopkeep, Odd had no Snag Coins at the moment. Nor did he find what he was looking for. After a while of "browsing", he apologized to Nebu for his lack of purchases today and left empty-handed.
"You're a horrible thief." Odd nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his boyfriend's voice, thinking for a brief instant that Nebu had figured him out. "Here." Lykas placed a vial of Shadow Vaccine into Odd's hands with a smile. "Just, next time, leave the thieving to me."
"How-" Odd started to ask, only for Lykas to dissolve into a puddle and slink away, answering the question without him even needing to finish asking it. "Of course...Nebu keeps it in the back so you have to ask for it, right?" He ended up asking no one in particular, shaking his head at his own failure to think that through. It would only make sense to do so. This stuff was incredibly valuable, of late, after all.
Regardless of how he came to possess the stuff, Odd stowed the Shadow Vaccine in his bag and, stepping down the mountainside a bit, he called for Claydol. The Pokemon arrived shortly and, after a short exchange, Odd was whisked away and sent off to Mt. Pyre.
Upon arrival, Odd realized two things. First was that he hadn't received the beckons to come here from Tui and La as he normally did. And second was that the isolated mountain was both empty and brimming with danger at once. He didn't see anything at all but everywhere he looked and everything he sensed around himself screamed "Danger! Death! Destruction!". It was very clear the Shadow Virus had made it here already. Thankfully, he had since learned the way to Amaya's school high up atop the mountain and, since Claydol couldn't seem to pinpoint it, even with the Channeler's memories as a guide, he would have to hurry to get there. Simply because of the virus' hold on the area, the young man decided not to call out one of his Pokemon for company just yet. He might not have a choice before long, though.
As he ascended the mountainside, the feeling of danger emanating from everywhere filled him further. After a short while, he found himself near the outskirts of the school and that was when the danger made itself apparent. A Dusknoir appeared before him, eye blazing with hatred for all life. "I was afraid of that...." Odd said as he jumped backwards, whipping out a Dusk Ball and throwing it towards Dusknoir. Dissonance erupted from the Ball, towering over the other Ghost. The two Shadowfied Pokemon glared at one another, one behemoth to the other. Sizing up the threat. No matter how great it was, however, neither would back down. This was what a Shadow Pokemon lived for, after all.
Dusknoir - Gender Unknown Ability: Pressure Shadow Punch Sucker Punch Future Sight Confuse Ray Shadow Half +4 Hyper Meter Shadow End +10 Hyper Meter
Dusknoir reared back at last, cocking it's arm for a Shadow Punch. "Don't hold back!" Odd called to his partner. If any part of Dissonance was in there and still listening, the Golurk would, hopefully understand what he meant. If the Automaton Pokemon were to hold back here, it would most certainly be beaten. The Dusknoir had seen more battles than days Odd had lived, he was certain. It was incredibly powerful and would easily overpower them if they didn't give their all to this.
Dissonance, what little of his sane mind was left buried beneath the seething rage born of the virus within him, heard Odd's cry and did understand his meaning. And that meant not playing fair, either. So the Golurk rear back with it's own arm. And it's body flashed with silver light as it used Iron Defense. Just as Dusknoir let fly with it's attack, Dissonance did the same, matching Dusknoir's Shadow Punch with it's own, ghostly energy coalescing around it's fist as it soared through he air. The two Pokemon's attacks collided in between them and, thanks to his hardened body and Iron Fist ability, Dissonance's attack ripped through Dusknoir's like it's fist had been made of folded paper.
The Gripper Pokemon looked down at it's hand, which had exploded into a morass of ribbons as Dissonance had torn through it. The ribbons wriggled and writhed under their owner's glare before slowly forming back into a hand. Dusknoir flexed it's reformed fingers once or twice before it's eye flashed with pink light, holding the color for a brief moment before it darkened to it's usual red.
"Dissonance, be careful!" Odd called out. He recognized the telltale sign of Future Sight, if only just barely. He could do nothing until the attack came to bear but it would take time, he knew. "Gravity!" The goliathan Pokemon never acknowledged Odd's command but the sudden pressure surrounding him was a sign that it had heard and obeyed. For now.
Dusknoir felt the increase in gravity's effect on it more than Odd, since it didn't touch the ground usually. Dragged down despite it's best attempt to remain in the air, it struggled to fight back. Odd thought it was failing to do so and called another attack. "While it's on the ground, Stone Edge!" He called. Though, apparently, the Automaton didn't like that command and so, instead, used an attack Odd had never seen before. Stamping it's feet upon the ground, shockwaves of Ground-type energy radiated out from the impact, Dissonance showing signs of emotion at last as it threw a Stomping Tantrum, slowly closing in on Dusknoir as it attempted to crush the other Ghost beneath it's feet.
Dusknoir, in an attempt to stop the attack, unleashed a powerful blast of virus infused energy into the area, the Shadow energy tearing away at both Dissonance's and it's own vitality. The cutting aura did little to help with Dissonance's desire to fight other than make it want to destroy Dusknoir further, though it was obvious the Pokemon had been terribly weakened by it. Unfortunately for Dusknoir, so had it. "Dissonance! Use Gravity again and hold it down!" Odd called, taking out the vial of Shadow Vaccine he'd brought along. Quickly loading it into the innoculation gun he'd been holding onto for his own Pokemon, he took his only chance, as he saw it. As Dissonance raised it's arms into the air in an effort to contain the other spirit, Odd took off, running toward Dusknoir at full tilt. Only to suddenly find himself clawing at the ground with hands and feet. The earth beneath him slowly turning into pudding. "Shadow Pit?!" He yelped. "No! No, no, no!" He grunted as he forced himself onward, through the quicksand. Thankfully, it did it's job and incapacitated Dusknoir for the moment, leaving it unable to move as Odd drew close enough and jabbed the needle of the vaccine into it's arm and pulled the "trigger", depressing the plunger and inundating the Ghost-type with the only thing that would salvage it's mind from the depths of madness the Shadow Virus had plunged it into.
Dusknoir Hyper Meter 4/10 Dissonance Hyper Meter 6/10
Recalling Dissonance at this point, Odd slowly extricated himself from the remnants of the attack that had trapped both him and Dusknoir, watching as the Ghost struggled to free itself as well. And that's when he felt the force of an unbridled mental assault scramble his brain like so many eggs in a breakfast burrito before the world suddenly went dark, the channeler slumping to the ground unconscious. He'd completely forgotten about Future Sight.
"Wake up, child!" "Noir?" "No, I don't blame you. Per se." "Dusknoir." "You weren't yourself. Child, wake. Up."
"Uuuuugh." Odd groaned as he slowly opened his eyes again, only to be greeted by a grim light from above. The sky was coated in a layer of grey clouds which he could swear were tinged with a hint of black or purple. Whatever color that Shadow Virus changed Pokemon's auras to when they were visible seemed to be tracing even the clouds overhead. "I'm alive?" He asked after a moment of realizing that he could hear his heart beating in his ears at times.
"More or less, yes." Amaya replied as Odd finally sat up. "I apologize for Dusknoir attacking you. It's been on a violent rampage for months, warmongering against anything and everything it could find to fight." The ghostly woman explained, watching her young pupil get up and check to be certain he was still among the living.
"I was afraid of that. I brought a vaccine for what was causing it just in case. Glad I did, actually." Odd replied with a sigh of relief. "How did I get up here?" He finally asked. "The last thing I remember was giving Dusknoir the vaccine and then the worst pain I've ever felt in my life hit me."
"Ah. That would have been Dusknoir." Amaya replied, indicating the Ghost-type, whom appeared to be incredibly apologetic to the young Channeler. "Whatever you did to him seems to have recovered his sanity and when he came back to his senses and saw you unconscious he brought you straight to me." She explained. "He's been apologizing and blaming himself for the last 18 hours, since."
"Eighteen hours?!" Odd exclaimed, finding it difficult to believe he'd been asleep that long. It had been just shy of dawn when he arrived. If he'd been asleep that long.....Then those clouds overhead weren't ominous after all. It was just night and he'd been too groggy to realize it. Looking up again to be sure, he confirmed that to be the case. The sky was black as pitch, except for the stars dotting the heavens and the “blanket” of clouds in the sky weren't grey at all. They were simply dark from the underside and large but not many.
"Indeed. Regardless of that, though, I'm glad you're alright. I was afraid you hadn't gotten my message. Tui and La have been affected similarly to Dusknoir, though they spend most of their time fighting one another lately. I have had to place them into seperate ponds to stop them." Amaya said as she stood up from her kneeling position, hovering just above the ground, at roughly eye level with Odd.
"I only just barely got it, actually. I managed to receive enough to understand you wanted me to come here but that was all." Odd replied.
"Very well. Then let me explain why you're here now." Amaya lead the young Channeler to a room within the school and had Dusknoir open the door for them. Which the Pokemon exhibited far more joy in than Odd could say he'd ever seen before. The Pokemon truly did enjoy serving Amaya, apparently. Once inside, it was clear this was a classroom, so Odd took one of the seats as Amaya and Dusknoir approached the front of the room. "Dusknoir, dear."
Dusknoir nodded and busied itself by retrieving a few things scattered around the room while Amaya began to speak. "Up to now, I have been using Tui and La to open the gateway to the Otherworld for you. However, in their current state, you will be unable to utilize their ability to do so further." She began. "So your training this time around is of a special nature. You will be acquiring your own key to the Otherworld this time."
"I'm doing what now?" Odd asked, suddenly lost. "My own key? Like the one that let me find the Killing Stone that broke in your old as crap doors here?" He asked, still a bit irate over that.
"Yes and no." Amaya replied, a small jolt of Ghost energy bursting beside his head and resulting in the equivalent to a slap to the side of his head, akin to a certain television show cop.
"Ow...."
"You will be acquiring an item called an 'obol'." Amaya explained, having Dusknoir hand the Channeler a very ancient-looking coin. It was roughly circular in shape and appeared to have been poorly minted by hand with a rough imprint of what looked like a Rowlet on it.
"Ok....So if this is it, doesn't that mean I just finished training?" Odd asked, confused.
"Very funny, child." Amaya snapped. "That obol is my own from many years ago when I was still in training. It's power is almost completely gone." She explained. "However, it should still have enough left to get you into the Otherworld one more time."
"So if this isn't the one I need, where and, or how do I get another one?" Odd asked.
"You will be entering the circle of Greed this time. I know little of it save for the demon lord Maemen makes it his home and he has spent centuries hoarding nearly every obol in existence." Amaya explained. "The circles sometimes change their nature when a new lord takes over and Maemen was not the one reigning there when I was training." She paused for a moment, as if considering something. "You may well find the way to obtain your own obol will be a bit more challenging than how I acquired my own, as well."
"Why? What do I have to do." Odd questioned, curious now.
"I cannot say for certain, as I have not been there in many years. But I have heard tales of Maemen throwing tournaments to amuse himself with the denizens of his Circle fighting, sometimes to the death. The rumors state that the winners are handsomely rewarded for their role in entertaining the demon lord."
"Huh.....So maybe if the rumors are true, I could enter one of his tournaments and try to win? I could demand an obol for my prize should I walk away victorious?" Odd suggested.
"That is a thought but you would need to find assistance within the Circle itself. The claim states that Maemen's tournaments require teams of three. A difficult task given the nature of the denizens. The souls within are all self-serving and greedy, though their very greed has resulted in the basic nature of the realm. The only thing that never changes there is that any form of riches repulse the spirits that inhabit Greed. The thing they want the most makes them violently ill to touch. "
"I see.....So winning and being rewarded is actually Maemen's way of punishing the victors because they won, isn't it?" Odd asked, beginning to understand a bit.
"It would seem so. You see, Maemen is said to have the sin of greed mastered to such a degree that his own selfishness is almost a form of art. Evidence in his desire to collect so many obol." Amaya replied, nodding sagely. "It would make sense that anyone so greedy as to willfully make themselves so very ill in order to satisfy their greed, he would want them punished."
"Alright. I think I can manage to do that. It might take some time but I should be able to pull it off. " Odd decided.
"However, that is not all, Child. I wish to see that you have learned from your previous ordeals. I want you to redeem a tortured soul trapped in Greed while you are there. Should you obtain a golden mask while there, you may be able to return with them, though I cannot say if they would return in their true form or be reborn as something else entirely."
"Um.....I dunno how to do that but, whatever. I'll give it my best shot." Odd replied, trying to figure out how he was supposed to 'redeem' a tortured soul.
"Very well. Then whenever you are ready, press your soul against the obol in your hand and you will be transported to the Otherworld. Oh and when you get there, you may as well leave it behind. I have no more need of it and it needs to begin collecting energy once again."
Odd nodded and, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he released Cadenza and pressed his spiritual energy into the coin.
"And Child. Beware the Desire." Amaya's voice echoed faintly as the world shifted before Odd's eyes. The coin seemed to know just where he wanted to go because he appeared to be bypassing the circles he had already traversed, the world shifting like a strange kaleidoscope before him, circles he was both familiar and unfamiliar with bypassing him over and over again again before reality settled, leaving him standing along the edge of a very ancient-looking camp.
"Beware what desire?" The channeler asked. It had only taken a few seconds, it felt like, before he had settled back into a solid world but Amaya was already gone and far from capable of responding to him at the moment.
"The Desire is a river, son."
"Huh?"
"Over here." The voice that called out to him ended up belonging to an old man sitting by the edge of a river with water as yellow as pure gold. "This is the Desire. It's an offshoot of Styx that runs through hereabouts." The man repeated, casting a fishing lure into the water. "I wouldn't touch the water if I was you, though." He said with a laugh.
"Why not?" Odd asked as he walked over a bit closer to inspect it. "It doesn't look dangerous. Is it acidic?"
"Not in the slightest. Least, not for those with a physical body." The old man replied. "For folks like us, only the strongest can touch it safely. It attracts Them."
"Them?" Odd asked, looking around. Them sounded dangerous.
"The souls of the greediest bastards in the whole damned place. They're what turn into Cofagrigus." The man explained. "The water of the Desire is, basically, liquid gold and They live in it. Down at the bottom in the sand and silt." Reeling his line in a bit, the old man sighed. "Don't know why I waste my breaks fishin'. Never catch a thing." He said to himself, finally reeling the remainder of his line in. "Anyhow. If the water gets on yeh, They can see yeh no matter where yeh go and they won't stop chasin' yeh til they get yeh."
"That would've been nice of Amaya to mention before I was already leaving...."
"No harm, no foul, son." The old man replied, walking past Odd and back toward the camp. "You look new here. Might as well follow me. Someone's gonna hafta show yeh the ropes 'round here."
"Sure." Odd replied, motioning to Cadenza to follow him, thankful that the Shedinja was able to come here with him as usual.
"Now down here in these parts, we ain't got the kinda luxury them folks in the inner city got. We bust our tails out here in the outskirts." The old man stated as he led Odd to a small shed in the camp and fished out a pickaxe. "Maemen wants every chunk'a ore and every piece'a gem we can dig up."
"I see. Does everyone here work for Maemen?" Odd asked as he took the digging utensil, unsure what to do with it.
"Pretty much everyone, yep. Except the city folks. They're the ones what won Maemen's fightin' tourneys. He keeps 'em close so they can entertain him."
"I get the feeling that's where I need to go, then. Can you point me in that direction?"
"I could, son, but if you plan to fight, you'll be needin' more'n that." The old man replied to Odd's question, pointing to his Spirit Chain. "Yeh're a young Channeler in training aint'cha?" He questioned. "No point denyin' it, either. I been watching yeh come and go for a while now."
Odd paused. This old man had been watching him enter and leave the Otherworld? How was that possible? Wasn't every soul bound to a single circle? "I am. But how do you know that?" He finally asked.
"Folks call me the Drifter. I don't got just one circle I call home. I'm kinda guilty of all'a them 'sins', as people call 'em, so I get to wander, I suppose." The old man responded. "Now. I was waiting here for yeh for a while. Took yeh long enough to get here."
"I'm sorry?" Odd responded, unsure what else to say.
"No need'ta apologize. Yeh're here now and I can give yeh this." The Drifter stated simply. "It's yehr choice to use it or not but remember that it's a lot more durable than that dinky necklace." He said as he pulled an old sickle out of the shed and handed it to Odd. It had a crescent shaped blade and a hollow handle that appeared to have a sort of "cap" on the end. "If yeh want to use it, put yehr little necklace inside the handle and cap it. The two items'll bond and become one new Artifact fer yeh to use." He explained.
"Um....I can't accept this." Odd replied, attempting to push it back into the old man's hands.
"Son, I get why yeh don't want it. Amaya made yeh that chain, amirite?" The Drifter asked, curious.
"Um...Yes, actually. It's a very special item." Odd responded, looking down at the Spirit Chain he wore around his neck somewhat affectionately.
"I figured. Amaya's got a signature to 'er work. It's always shoddy and won't hold up to strain." The Drifter replied. "See here? It's already weakenin'." He stated, pointing to a connection between two of the beads. Looking closely at it, Odd couldn't deny he was right. The chain did appear weaker there than it did in other places. And he had noticed a distinct weakening of his channeling abilities lately.
"Huh....I guess it is a bit frail... I just don't think I could replace it. I'm so used to using it to channel my abilities...." The young channeler admitted with a sigh.
"Just hang on'ta it. Yeh might change yehr mind later." The drifter replied with a small, knowing smile. "Now if yeh wanta get'ta the city, follow the riverbank. Yeh'll get there." He assured.
Odd shrugged at the insistence that he keep the sickle and attached it to his belt alongside his Pokeballs. All of which refused to open here, making them utterly useless, really. Odd thanked the Drifter for his assistance and headed off, walking along the riverbank, careful to not touch the water. It was a good long while before he made it to the point where things started to get interesting. As he walked, he looked around and truly took it the view of the realm. Greed wasa ringed by mighty mountains on all sides. There was literally no escape from this circle without climbing a mountain, though what lay beyond them was anyone's guess. Along the bases of every single mountain, there appeared to be a small encampment like the one he'd arrived near. And there were people bustling about in them. Some pushed carts of jewels and gemstones, others hauled crates filled with precious metals.
But every single one of them shared something in common. They all eyed the riches they hauled with eyes that screamed for them but the looks on their faces spoke of utter disgust. He saw one in particular that couldn't walk but a few steps with a crate so full that gold ore spilled over the sides before he had to stop and run fron the crate to retch in the grass, only to return and haul the crate a few more steps. It ws very clear that what he was doing was incredibly unpleasant for him at best. "This really is a special kind of Hell, isn't it?" He asked Cadenza, at this point.
~I'd have to agree. These poor souls can't ever touch the things they seem to crave the most.~ The Shedinja responded.
"It's sad but.....in a twisted sort of way, kind of fitting." What better punishment for those so consumed by avarice, after all?
Odd was, for the most part, ignored by the various trapped souls, each and every one toiling away. He was far enough away from them, by the water's edge, that none of them seemed to even see him, so consumed in their work as they were. Sadly for Odd, he was distracted by watching them and almost stepped off the riverbank, directly into the Desire.
~Sterling, watch where you're going!~ Cadenza's cry was accompanied by an aura of blue light surrounding the channeler as the Shedinja used Telekinesis to yank him away from the water's edge.
"What is that?!" Odd yelped, spotting a small collection of shadowy hands pawing blindly at the surface.
~The old man did mention the creatures that become Cofagrigus living down there....~ Cadenza reminded Odd as he set him back on the ground a few yards from the water. ~That is very likely Them.~
Odd nodded, agreeing with Cadenza's assessment. "Okay. Then let's stay a bit farther away from the river, then..... I don't feel like getting drowned in gold by a mummy ghost." He shivered at the thought.
Cadenza had to agree as well. That was definitely not a pleasant-sounding way to have their journey together ended. So the two set off once more, making certain to keep a few feet of distance between them and the water, at minimum. As Odd and his partner walked along, they eventually spotted a small settlement that was not far from the water, being careful as they drew near to it. “You think the people here can tell us how much farther it is to the city?”
~I wouldn’t know for certain but we can always ask.~ Cadenza replied, a spiritual shrug accompanying the response.
“Good point.” Odd conceded as the pair drew closer. The closer they got, the more Odd could make out about the small town, which he learned when they were just on it’s outskirts was what it was. A very small but very clearly obvious mining town. There wasn’t much to it, really. Mostly a mining supplies storage shed, which appeared full to bursting with equipment the townsfolk would likely use in their work, at the moment, and a few assorted shacks, which all appeared to be empty at the moment.
“Maemen is hosting a tournament soon. We can form a team and enter it!” “And what good would it do us?” “If our team wins, we can use the reward to gain freedom from Maemen’s slavery!” “And if they lose, Maemen will punish us with even more work. We barely get any rest as it is because of you and your teams’ failure in the last one! We will not be joining your foolish crusade again!”
As Odd found his way toward the town’s central area (not really a square but more of a “Main Street” deal, despite the obvious lack of any vehicles), he spotted a small gathering of people, with a young spirit engaged in a heated debate with an elderly one. The younger spirit looked to be a hybrid of some sort, his hair billowing about like a burning flame and an eerie purple in color with flames spouting from his elbows and wrists, his skin a deep grey, or possibly even black(Odd couldn’t tell at the current distance).
“But if we win, we’ll be free!” “And if you lose, we all get punished for your foolishness!” “I’m not gonna have to work even harder because of you!” “I’m already cursed to never sleep. I don’t need to never rest, either!”
It looked like a few of the other townsfolk were turning on the young hybrid now.
“Why don’t you get it?! We. Can. Be. Free!” “We. Don’t. CARE!”
This was getting out of hand. “If you’re going to join Maemen’s tournament, I’m looking for a few people to join me so I can as well.” Odd finally pitched in, revealing himself from around the supply shed, Cadenza hidden behind him.
“And just who are you?!” The elder spirit who’d been arguing a moment ago demanded of Odd as the channeler slowly advanced on them, closing the gap and beginning to see that the elder was actually a woman.
“My name is Odd.” He introduced himself as he closed the gap entirely, now standing beside the flaming hybrid who’d been arguing the pros of fighting in Maemen’s tournament. “And Who I am is a channeler in training. I have need of Maemen’s tournament.” He explained.
“My name is Genkai and I think you’re an idiot. Almost no one wins Maemen’s tournament. The people here are too greedy to work together long enough.“ The old woman replied.
“Well it sounds like this one wants to give it a shot.” Odd retorted, jamming his thumb towards the hybrid beside him.
“Yes he does and Carson’s as stupid as you are, apparently.” Genkai replied.
“I am not stupid. I know we could win!” The hybrid named Carson retorted, crossing his arms in aggravation. This caused the flames at his joints to join together and flare up.
“Let’s say you do manage to win. What would you wish for?”
“I’d wish for freedom!” Carson replied, adamant about that.
“I thought so.” Genkai replied, grimacing as she shook her head. “You’d wish for freedom. Your freedom. The moment the time came, you wouldn’t care about the rest of us. It’s better we all wallow in the misery visited upon us as it is rather than risk we lose one of ours leaving and the workload being even greater on the rest of us. Or, should you lose, Maemen deciding to punish us all for your insolence.”
“I…..” Carson turned about fifty shades of red before returning to his normal color once again. He couldn’t seem to find the words to answer.
“And what if I decided to take him with me and helped him win?” Odd questioned.
“I can’t put faith in a stranger to keep their word. However, if you take him off our hands so he’ll stop making things worse, help yourself.” Genkai replied, turning and beginning to walk away at that point.
““We’ll see what happens, then.” Odd replied, extending a hand to the hybrid at his side. “Carson, was it?” He asked as the hybrid took his hand in his own and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Ya, that’d be me.” Carson replied. “Carson Reala, ex-Snowboarding Champion from Snowpoint City.”
That name sounded familiar. “You were on the news recently.” Odd realized. “I saw your death being covered.”
“Really? Still famous, even after I got caught up in that avalanche?” Carson asked, eyes wide and a wicked grin spreading across his face.
“Apparently so. They said there were hundreds of fans at your funeral.” Odd replied, thinking back to the coverage he’d seen.
Carson pumped his fist in the air, a small and silent cheer for himself evident on his face. “I’ve still got it!”
“Well, if you’re interesting in joining Maemen’s tournament, then we should get going.“ Odd finally stated, trying to turn the focus back onto the task he’d been assigned.
“Right, right.” Carson agreed, jumping and looking around for a moment. “Well, then let’s get going!” He exclaimed, beginning to walk in the general direction of the city, itself.
“Excited, are you?” Odd asked, a bit sarcastically. “It’s not like we don’t have time to get there.” He pointed out, looking over his shoulder to be sure Cadenza was sticking close.
“Actually...” Carson paused for a brief moment. “I dunno how long you’ve been here for but the tournament’s in two days so…..we actually don’t have any time to waste.” He assured his new ally, sounding a bit grim. “And we need to find someone willing to join us and make it three of us if we’re going to enter this tournament at all.”
“….” Odd’s own tone changed with that information . “That’s definitely not good thing….” He finally said to himself. “How familiar are you with others around here? Do you know anyone who would be willing to join us?”
Carson thought for a moment, sighed and then shook his head in the negative. “Not for sure. But there is one person that comes to mind. She’s like you, only kinda dead.”
“So she’s a channeler in training?” Odd asked. “That might be a good thing.” She could be incredibly helpful if we have to get into any really tough fights.”
“Ya but the question is, can we get her to join us?” Carson pointed out. “I don’t really know anything about her except that she’s been here for a while. As in, she’s been here for six months and keeps saying she can’t get out.” Odd paused there. Did he really want to consort with a channeler who had allowed themselves to become trapped in the Otherworld while training? “Where is she?” He finally decided aloud.
“Last I heard, she was training on the outskirts of the city so we should be able to find her when we get close.” Carson responded, scratching at his chin.
The trio had been resumed traveling again by now and, after a bit of silence, Odd finally broke the awkwardness. “If we’re going to be fighting together in a tournament, we need to know each others abilities so we can play off of them if necessary.” He finally announced, figuring it would be better to learn what each other could do early on.
“I can burn stuff.” Carson replied, making his flames flare up as he said it.
“That can be useful. What else can you do?”
“I can burn stuff.” Carson reiterated. “All my attacks are based on fire except for one and it’s Acid, so it’s still technically burning.”
Odd let out a sigh. ”This might explain why you haven’t won before.” He muttered to himself. “Well, I can do several things. I’ve got a shield. I can summon minion spirits. I can even sap the strength of a soul directly.” He listed off, conveniently forgetting about how his conjured spirits didn’t always do his bidding.
“Wow. Versatile.” Carson responded. “I think that other channeler girl said she could heal people, too. That could be useful, if it’s true.” Odd had to admit, that did sound incredibly useful.
Now that the two of them had discussed their abilities, however briefly, Odd had a chance to start formulating some kind of idea of how they might be able to work together in the tournament. “I can see the skyline from here.” He finally announced after a long while of traveling in silence again.
“Good. Now comes the fun part. To get into the city, you have to figure out how to get across Desire without getting caught by Them.” Carson grinned, his joints burning hotter at the thought of a potential fight.
“Great….” Odd feigned annoyance. He had a way across, he knew, but even so, it wasn’t like he wanted to deal with those things down in the water again. He was technically dead down here and he’d still almost had a heart attack when they nearly grabbed him before.
“It’ll be easy!” Carson assured the channeler as they got closer to the riverbank.
“I’m sure it will be.” Odd replied without the least bit of sarcasm.
Before they reached the river’s edge, the trio happened to spot someone fighting…..something. Odd couldn’t tell what it was but it was most definitely a woman fighting it. “Should we help?” Carson asked when he finally caught sight of it as well.
“I should think so. If they’re in trouble, they might be willing to join us in the tournament.” Odd replied, looking at the woman and her opponent a bit more carefully, trying to determine just what exactly she was fighting.
Picking up their speed, the channeler and hybrid approached the battling woman with a small amount of trepidation. “Hey! You look like you could use a hand!” Carson called out.
Odd hung back for the moment, sticking by Cadenza’s side just in case he needed to step in and help out. ~That woman is giving me a strange feeling. Her energy is incredibly similar to yours...~ The Shedinja in question relayed to Odd.
~What do you mean?~ Odd silently asked in return, their spiritual communion leaving the channeler’s expression still rather blank.
“I’m in no trouble!” The woman they had approached exclaimed, wielding a small, winged staff in her hands, skillfully blocking several blades of wind produced by her opponent, some sort of bird, he could see by now. “That’s enough for the moment Yuna.” The female announced after blocking the attack with her staff.
“So that’s your Pokemon, I take it?” Carson asked her, looking at the avian. “That’s an Oricorio, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. Yuna is, in fact an Oricorio. We’ve been partners for years.” The young female responded as Yuna walked over to her side and jumped up, flapping her wings a few times to get elevated to the woman’s shoulder, where she roosted comfortably.
“I’ve never seen that Pokemon before. Do you mind if I ask you a bit about it?” Odd finally asked as he drew nearer now.
~Sterling, be careful with this one.~ Cadenza warned, keeping close to his partner’s side.
“If you’d like to discuss your own partner there.” The young woman responded. “And that peculiar necklace of yours. It’s got some interesting energy around it.”
“So you are a channeler?” Odd questioned.
“Indeed. My name is Sister Strange.” The young woman introduced herself. It was only now that Odd noticed she was wearing a nun’s habit, though hers was in a delicate shade of purple that seemed to match her partner’s colors.
“Sister? You’re a member of the Convent?” Odd was a bit surprised by that, honestly.
“That I am. Might I ask your name, young man?” Strange replied, now becoming rather curious regarding Odd’s story.
Odd debated for a moment whether he should give his real name or not before finally conceding to his more honest leanings. “I am Brother Odd.”
“Odd and Strange….Both members of the clergy. How very eerie that is.” Strange replied with a curious smile. “Let me ask you this, are you not called something else by others?”
Odd grimaced at the woman. She could tell he hadn’t given her his real name. “I would tell you my birth name but it wouldn’t be right of me to do the same without first hearing yours. We both know such names as ours aren’t given at birth.”
Carson was just standing on the sidelines of this interaction at this point, thoroughly confused by the interaction between these two. “You are absolutely right. I wouldn’t wish to be rude by not giving my true name. I simply request you refrain from using it.” Strange replied, giving a curt nod in acquiescence of Odd’s request. “My name is truly Hildegarde Alberta Grey. May I ask yours?” Odd nodded in kind. “My birth name is Sterling Merkurie Grey. Fair warning; Use it and you die.” He introduced himself properly, crimson eyes narrowing at the woman before him, daring her to take his warning lightly.
“Very well. It’s wonderful to meet you properly, if ever more curious by the moment.” Strange responded with a smile, making it clear she had heard every word of Odd’s warning but took nothing to heart. “May I now ask for your reason for interrupting my training?”
“Actually, yes. We were looking for you.” Carson finally interjected, cutting Odd off before he and Strange could begin yet another dialogue that left him sidelined and unable to intervene. “We’re planning on entering Maemen’s tournament and were hoping you’d join us. “
“Maemen’s tournament?” Strange repeated, rolling the idea around for a moment. “No, I don’t think that would be something that would be helpful to my purpose. I need to continue training in order to gain the strength I need to escape from this wretched place.” She responded, though she visibly paused afterward.
“Yes...You’re right about that.” She said to herself, it seemed. “I suppose that could still count as training.”
“Are you alright?” Carson asked only for Odd to hold up a hand and stop him.
“Let them finish. She’s having a chat with her partner.”
“Heh?”
Strange nodded sagely at this point. “Alright. I’ll amend my answer. I will agree to assist your team on the condition that the two of you help me with my training. I have need of stronger opponents of late.”
“That works for us. A mutual partnership to meet all of our needs.” Odd agreed. “I could use your help as well, anyway.”
“In what way? Gaining strength as I am or knowledge?” Strange wondered aloud.
“A bit of both, actually. I’m looking at learning a new ability while I’m here. Kind of thinking that working with another channeler might help.” Odd explained with a small shrug.
“That’s a reasonable thought.” Strange replied with a smile.
“I hate to interrupt the Weird Family reunion here, but if we’re gonna be joining this thing, we have a little over a day to get inside the city and go register.” Carson finally interrupted the two once again. “And we still have to get across the river to do that.”
“Oh...” Odd caught himself at this point, realizing he’d allowed himself to get rather distracted from the objective of his mission. “Right. Hang on.”
“Cadenza, help me out here. Blow a Silver Wind across the river’s surface.” He told his partner as he walked toward the river. Cadenza gave a small spiritual nod and a silvery gust began to emerge from the hole in his back, blowing rather gently across the river’s surface, leaving a trail of sparkling silver atop the golden waters between it’s banks. “Perfect.” Utilizing the powder in the Silver Wind as a tie to the Land Above, Odd conjured up the Ghostly energy within himself and, with Cadenza’s assistance, structured it into a flat “floor” of Black Fabric, bridging the river with ease. “They can’t touch us through it and as long as we’re fast, we’ll get across before they realize we’re here.” He explained to the others.
“That’s….absolutely marvelous.” Strange cheered, she and Yuna both clapping and a bit wide-eyed with awe at Odd’s feat. “Though it does seem a bit…..dark for a young monk.”
Odd didn’t respond to that just yet. He had a feeling already that Strange’s powers and his own were vastly different and he wanted to see just how different before explaining that his training had resulted in powers and abilities far more closely related to the darker side of the Otherworld.
“That’s not so impressive.” Was Carson’s response, though he rushed across the bridge before anyone else could say or do anything else.
“Ladies first.” Odd announced to Strange, offering a small bow and a wave of his hand for her to cross ahead of him.
“Such manners!” Strange blushed softly before taking the lead, allowing Odd and Cadenza to take the rear and watch out for attackers. Peculiarly, none appeared. He’d been expecting Them to be clawing at his bridge and trying to get to him and, by extension, his newfound allies, within seconds of the bridge being formed.
As the party crossed into the city, which Odd now realized wasn’t just across the river but on a massive island in the middle of it, the two channelers hung back and began to converse with one another once more, following Carson’s lead to wherever they would be registering, since he was the only one of them who had ever done so before. “So your partner’s an Oricorio, right? Where is that Pokemon from?” Odd asked.
“Yuna comes from a region called Alola. I found her while on a mission assigned by the Church of Arceus branch in Lumiose City. I was informed of an island chain off the coast of Anistar City that appeared to have recently seen a migration of strange spirit-like creatures and found her as an egg. When she hatched, she was just so adorable that I couldn’t bring myself to exorcise her.” Strange explained.
“I see. You’re working directly for the Church. Don’t they frown on Channelers?” Odd asked, curious about that. He’d always done his own spiritual works freelance, unaffiliated with the Church of Arceus.
“Not as much these days. Some of the higher up are still skeptical and they watch me very closely but I’ve yet to give them a reason to believe we’re anything less than a benefit to them.” Strange frowned at that point, becoming a bit somber as she spoke, though she did perk up as she finished explaining.
“Well that’s good.” Odd responded with a small sigh. He’d been afraid of going home for so long because he didn’t know just how the Sisters back home would react to him these days.
“Now it’s my turn to ask you a question. I can see your partner is a Shedinja. A guardian spirit. So why does your channeling have such a dark nature?” Strange asked, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly in anticipation of his answer.
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. I supposed it would have to do with the fact that most of my training has taken place here in he Otherworld.” Odd replied, really giving it some thought now. “I suppose the nature of this place has had an effect on my channeling skills.”
“Very odd. My own has primarily taken place in the City of Light, the Otherworld above our own.” Strange interjected, giving this disparity a small amount of thought. “You haven’t been trained by a master assigned by the Church, have you?!” She suddenly realized the most obvious difference.
“Actually, no. I am training under Amaya, a survivor of the War of the Elements.” Odd replied, supplying his master’s name without thinking it could be a problem.
“Amaya? The stories say she died.” Strange was not very interesting in hearing more about all this. “How can she still be alive? The War was hundreds of years ago!”
“Well the short answer is that she’s not alive, per se. She did die back then but not in the war. The explanation I got from her was that as her channeling grew in strength, her soul became too powerful for her body to contain it any longer and it was ejected, leaving her a bodiless spirit wandering the grounds at the place of her death.” Odd explained. “And I’m afraid if I can’t learn how to keep my own soul contained, I may end up suffering the same fate.”
Cadenza stuck close by Odd’s side as they walked the city streets, taking ever narrower roads and alleyways until they had finally reached a place where Carson stopped.
“Really, now? Where did she die? The old stories say she was last seen alive at a battle that took place in the Hoenn region, against another Master. A hybrid named Varuna that she had deemed a threat to far more life than the other Masters at the time.”
“Varuna? My boyfriend is a hybrid training und-oof!” Odd had the wind knocked out of him as he crashed right into Carson’s back.
“If you’re done losing track of what we’re doing here, we’ve made it to the registration area.” He stated rather simply. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he was rather annoyed at his point.
“Oh! Great!” Odd replied, attempting to regulate his breathing and the increased rate his heart had started beating at after the bump and sudden stop.
It didn’t take long before the trio were registered and had been handed a small pamphlet. “Maemen doesn’t like explaining the rules before the fights start. Study this and know them by heart or you’re not getting anywhere in there.” The registrar warned them before sending them on their way with instructions to reach what was described as a hotel for the tournament entrants to rest and train at before and after matches, if they so chose.
“That’s convenient. We don’t have to go and find somewhere to train now.” Odd voiced as the party headed towards it, following the directions they’d been given.
It took about twenty minutes to get there since the place was back on the outskirts of the city, though it wasn’t across the river, thankfully. “Looks like the training area they mentioned is an outdoor gym with a boxing ring in it….” Strange announced as the got close, spotting the various pieces of, admittedly, archaic training equipment set about in the side yard of the hotel.
“Well, what can I set on fire? I feel like burning something down.” Carson asked from behind the two Channelers.
“I’d prefer that you spent the time leading up to the tournament practicing your moves and sharpening your fighting skills rather than committing arson, to be quite honest.” Strange told the hybrid behind them, with Odd nodding in agreement.
“She makes a good point. We should all be preparing for this if we’re going to even bother with trying to win, otherwise we may as well forfeit before we even start.” He voiced his own thoughts on the matter, looking over his shoulder as well rather than just talking as Strange had. Carson looked bit dejected but eventually, he agreed with them.
“You guys are probably right. I need to work hard if I’m gonna actually win. I mean...if we’re gonna win. Obviously.” The hybrid finally stated, catching himself as he fumbled with his words a bit. “I keep forgetting I’m not on my own this time around.” His sheepish smile slowly disappeared once Odd stopped giving him a funny look.
The trio at last headed into the hotel, registered and got their rooms. “I’m going out to the training yard.” Odd announced, leaving the others to go find their room, first.
“You think he’s gonna be ok? He seems like he’s way more eager for this than you are and you actually have something to get out of this, I’m sure.” Strange asked Carson as they walked the hallways, taking their leave of Odd.
“He’ll be fine. I think.” Carson assured her. “I mean, I barely know him but I get the feeling he’s after something here out of need, not greed.”
“I hope you’re right. I’d hate to see another Channeler trapped here like I’ve been for this long. Or worse.” Strange replied.
Walking off to the training yard, Odd and Cadenza got themselves settled in, looking over the equipment available to them before they started a bit of practicing. “You think these will be alright? I’m not familiar with most of these…” Odd asked, sounding a bit apprehensive.
~These should do fine for us. We’ll be training without them for the most part, anyway.~ Cadenza replied.
“I suppose you’re right.” Odd replied, stepping aside a bit to let Cadenza move past him. Standing opposite one another, they began to spar, a bit. Cadenza threw attacks at Odd, the Channeler using his own abilities to block them, the attacks growing stronger over time. This may not have seemed like much training to most but for these two, it worked perfectly. Odd was the durable one of the two, after all, with Cadenza essentially acting as a spiritual battery for Odd’s skills.
“You look to be in need of some more help.” Strange said after a while, emerging from the Hotel with Yuna on her shoulder.
Odd stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow, giving the female Channeler a particular look before shrugging. “I wouldn’t say that, really. We’re doing alright.” He responded.
“Not what I meant.” Strange retorted with a roll of her eyes. “You mentioned training with another Channeler before we came here. More specifically, you agreed to help me train as well.” She pointed out.
“Good point. I did agree to that.” Odd recalled, motioning Cadenza to come rest at his side. “Before that, can we discuss our partners? That was something I’d wanted to talk about earlier but we were obviously more interesting in other things at the time.”
“Indeed. You had questions about Yuna? Pray tell; what did you wish to ask?” Strange replied, walking over to a small bench provided for rest breaks.
“Several, actually.” Odd responded, following Strange and sitting across from her. “My first question is this: Is Yuna your primary partner? As I recall it, you attacked me and my friends a few years ago with a Banette.” He pointed out, eyes narrowing as he revealed this memory.
“I was afraid you would remember that…” Strange replied.
“Ya, I did. As I also recall, you were called E’trange at the time. What happened?” Odd replied, now beginning to sound genuinely curious.
“At the time, I was undercover. I have always worked for the Church but I had to disguise my origins from the spirits in that awful place, which meant attacking you and your group in order to keep appearances up. Luckily, you all finished what I had come to do, allowing me to escape unnoticed.” Strange replied, attempting to explain herself as best she could. “As for the name….I moved out of Kalos and have been living in Nimbasa city in the Unova region since shortly after that encounter. I changed the pronunciation of my name to fit in better. Most Unovans consider Kalosian names to be too exotic so it was very difficult to find a normal job when I first arrived.”
Odd listened carefully, nodding when and where he thought appropriate. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to remind me of that, then. But you still haven’t answered my first question.”
“To answer, yes, Yuna is my primary Channeling partner. The Banette I was using at the time was another of my Pokemon which I had brought along to maintain my illusion of allegiance to the spirits’ leader back then; Jack, I think his name was?” Strange explained. “I kept Yuna in her ball so that I could Channel, albeit not without a reduction in the strength of my skills and falsely claimed my Banette to be my partner.”
“I see. So when and where did you happen across Yuna? She’s clearly an Alolan Pokemon and they only just recently opened their borders to the rest of the world.” Odd asked, very curious about this.
“Curious story, actually.” Strange laughed. “I was sent by the Church to investigate claims of a haunting on an island off the coast of Anistar city. When I arrived, it was clear the local spirits were in a tizzy, of sorts. After much exploration, I actually found Yuna as an egg. She hadn’t hatched yet but the local spirits could sense she was going to be a problem for them and were trying to be rid of her.”
“You wouldn’t have been a Channeler back then…” Odd realized as Strange explained her story.
“I wasn’t, no.” Strange confirmed. “Anyway, shortly after I returned from the island, Yuna’s egg in hand, she hatched. She imprinted on me immediately and we’ve been inseparable ever since.” She finished.
“One last question. I’ve heard stories of an Alolan bird that can change it’s form. Is Yuna’s species that Pokemon?” Odd asked.
“Oricorio, that is, Yuna’s species, are known for the ability to change their forms and types along with it, yes. Yuna, however, is special. Because of our Channeling bond, the Nectar that typically causes the change does not affect her. She is forever locked in her ‘Sensu Style’ form.” Strange explained, rubbing her thumb along the underside of the avian’s beak, essentially stroking her chin.
“Interesting. I’ve never heard if a Pokemon that can change form losing that ability by bonding with a Channeler.” Odd thought aloud.
“Most don’t lose the type their Channeler has bonded with if they change form. Oricorio is always a Flying-type but of its four forms, only Sensu Style is Ghost-type.” Strange provided. “My turn now.”
Odd nodded as he looked over to Cadenza. “Fire.” he told his counterpart.
“Your Channeling partner is a Shedinja. Such a Pokemon is known to be a guardian. Why in Heaven’s name are you abilities so evil in nature?” Strange asked, thoroughly confused.
“Evil is a subjective topic, firstly. As for why, I have always assumed it was because I always train here. My Master, Sensei Amaya, has sent me to the Otherworld for training every time I have undergone a new training mission.” Odd replied.
“ intriguing. I have always trained in the Spheres of Heaven, myself. I wonder if one’s training ground can truly impact the development of their Channeling skills?” Strange responded, rubbing her chin as she considered such a thing.
“I wouldn’t know, myself. But it’s not like it really matters. I just want to get stronger. No….I need to.” Odd seemed to catch himself there. At first it had been a want but after recent events in Hoenn, he now knew it was a need. He was the only one who was capable of harming Dull during all of that but he needed to become stronger if he was going to be protecting anyone from him. That…..thing, he decided, couldn’t be allowed to exist if it was going to run rampant. And if the likes of Ein couldn’t even hurt him, then Dull needed to be destroyed by the only person who’d managed to do so before.
“You seem torn on that topic, Odd.” Strange noticed aloud. “Ori…” Yuna agreed.
“Not exactly. I just didn’t realize until now that I actually have a reason for this beyond me wanting to learn all I can about the Ghost-type and getting better as a trainer.” Odd responded. “There this guy.... a Hybrid named Dull. He is not of this world and he wants to see it burn. I’m the only person that’s been able to hurt him since my friends and I learned of his existence. I don’t know if anyone else in the entire world has been able to do the same. I need to get strong enough to fight him if he comes back.” He explained. “Because if he does, I’m sure he’s going to want to end me for what I did to him.” He knew that much for a fact. Dull wasn’t the type to let go of a grudge. Especially against someone he knew could be dangerous to him.
“Then let us begin this training session properly. I see the way the two of you work and I have an idea for an ability you might appreciate but using it won’t be easy.” Strange announced as she stood up.
Odd followed suit. “What is it? Don’t keep me waiting.”
“Well, I’m sure you have more than just your Shedinja here as a Pokemon you can channel with, correct?” Strange asked, cocking an eyebrow as Odd nodded, curiosity piqued now. “Well, though if your training is to go in without them to assist, then you are likely outgunned at every turn. How about we fix that by teaching you summon them in spiritual form?” She suggested. “It would allow you to offset that lack of numbers if times you need more than just yourselves. Which I’d wager is likely more often than you would like.”
Odd nodded silently, considering such a skill for a moment. ~That is a good idea but could we actually do it? Is it possible for us to call the others down here?~ He asked Cadenza. ~It is a possibility but I doubt that it would be the real versions of our friends. More likely than not, however, we could create Shades of them -Mindless spiritual echoes- that would require one of us to command them in order to act.~ Cadenza supplied his advice, modifying Strange’s idea slightly.
“I’m in. How do you suggest we go about doing that, though?” Odd finally said aloud, breaking his silence after several long moments, his conversation with Cadenza cementing his resolve to follow through with Strange’s idea.
“Well, to begin, you’d have to learn how to focus your energy into large quantities, depending on how many of your Pokemon you wish to call upon. The more Pokemon, the more energy you would need.” Strange began. Odd could sense something was off about her as she spoke. It was almost like she wasn’t quite herself. “After you have amassed the energy needed, you will need to reach out to your allies and supply that energy to them, allowing them to breach the veil between the world, if only temporarily.”
That was all? That didn’t sound so hard. Odd decided, though he knew better than to believe that something not sounding hard didn’t mean that it was true. ~What’s your opinion on this? Think we can do it?~ He asked Cadenza. ~I believe we can, yes. Although I would recommend us simply shaping the energy ourselves. It would be much easier than trying to pull our friends through the veil on our own. We haven’t the strength Amaya possesses to send us here, after all.~ Cadenza replied, his voice relaying his conviction behind this idea.
Odd nodded solemnly. “Well, let’s give this a shot.”
“Hold on now! It’s not going to be that simple.” Strange interrupted before Odd could could even get started. “You need to learn to do this while you are fighting. “
“Wait a second. How am I supposed to fight and focus at the same time?” Odd asked.
“Good question. You should try and figure that out while we train.” Strange replied before Yuna jumped off her shoulder and began to fly around Odd’s head, scattering glowing feathers with her Feather Dance, twisting and turning as she flew a literal dance in the air around the Channeler. “Heaven Help You if you can’t learn on the go.” With those words and no warning whatsoever, Odd suddenly found himself being assailed by exploding feathers.
“Gah! A little warning would’ve been nice!” He screamed, falling backwards from one explosion only to be rocked where he stood by one behind him.
“Your opponent will never tell you they’re attacking. You need to be ready for anything in a fight. You must learn to act and focus at the same time.” Strange told him as her attack continued.
“Great. That’s nice.” Odd retorted as he jumped away from the other Channeler’s attack. Trying to get some type of advantage on her at the moment, he conjured up a few “steps” of Black Fabric, climbing up them to get out of range of the explosive feathers Strange kept summoning around him.
“Clever but it won’t do you any good against us.” The young woman told him. “Yuna, fly.” The Oricorio nodded and shot skyward, her trail of feathers cut off as she ascended. “Now Quash!” Strange ordered. Channeling her own energy into her partner, the normally black aura that would engulf a target appeared as a golden light, a holy power manifesting through it.
“Uh...that’s not normal.” Odd said to himself as he left off his last step with a strong jump, realizing only too late that he couldn’t avoid this on his own. “Telekinesis!”
Cadenza reacted with brilliant speed, Odd’s body beginning to glow in midair, the psionic pull of the attack dragging him out of the air. Not before the golden light that was being emitted by Yuna engulfed him, however. “How curious…”
Odd didn’t react to that, however, instead, using the momentary pause to try summoning something. Only to summon nothing. He hadn’t even managed a simple Ouija Board summon. Despite the failure, he continued trying, training with Strange for the next several hours. By the time he had enough, it was getting dark and the circle of Greed appeared to not have any lights inside the city, despite the glow of fires all around the outer rim of the place so once darkness had fallen across the area, he and Strange decided to call it a night and headed inside the hotel.
“Dinner is served!”
“Wait, what? I thought the souls here were treated like slaves?” Odd asked Strange, the sound of the call to dinner genuinely surprising him.
“That’s only true outside the central city.” Carson’s voice cut in. “Inside the city, those who are competing in or have won Maemen’s tournament get treated especially well. Those competing only until the tournament is over, unfortunately.” He definitely sounded like he was missing that at the moment.
“Really? I suppose that would be a good incentive for people to come and sign up for this debacle…” Odd questioned, beginning to follow Carson, who seemed to know where he was going.
“Be careful what you eat, by the way. Maemen’s tournament starts before the first round.” Carson warned, leading Odd and Strange down the hallway, their partners either at their side or riding along with them.
“Oh that’s reassuring. So what happens if you die here?” Odd asked. “I’m curious to know that, as well.” Strange repeated.
“Nothing. You just…..stop existing, as far as I’m aware. Some people claim you’re reincarnated as a Ghost Pokemon but no one really knows. Nobody dies outside of Maemen’s arena.” Carson responded. About this time was when the trio rounded the corner in the hallway and found themselves in a surprisingly large banquet hall.
~After dinner~
Odd, Carson and Strange stood up from the table. With only Odd and Strange thanking their host for the meal, the trio headed off to their rooms to sleep. “This..was not what I was expecting.” Odd had most definitely not been planning on sharing a hotel room with his teammates he barely knew but this hadn’t been his expectation either. Strange and Carson had led him to a room on the third floor where, upon entering, he’d found a single large living space with four bedrooms branching off of it.
“This is pretty much par for the course when it comes to Maemen’s treatment of the competitors.” Carson nodded sagely as he announced this bit of info. “I thought you’d have gotten the idea from the fact they fed us. Maemen treats those who willfully compete in his tournament as if they were royalty, almost. It’s one of the reasons people actually are willing to risk everything they’re comfortable with just to try and win. Unfortunately, the team that loses in the first round ends up with punishments for not being entertaining enough except in special circumstances.”
Strange gave the hybrid a very look that belied her intrigue. “You know an awful lot about this set up. I’m curious as to how and why?” She told him, questioning his methods and his motives at once.
“Let’s just say I have first hand experience with this place.” Carson replied, refusing to give more detail than that.
“In fewer words: You tried. You failed. You learned.” Strange summed up with a smirk.
“Pretty much, ya.” Carson agreed. “Anyway, I came up here with Strange after you left to go train which is boring, by the way, so I already picked my room.” He announced before heading off to said already-picked room.
“Did you see him do any kind of training at all today?” Odd asked after the bedroom door had closed behind the Chanelure Hybrid.
“None whatsoever.” Strange reported with a small sigh. “I wonder why he’s failed before if he isn’t trying.” The question practically dripped with liquid sarcasm.
“He told me he’s tried multiple times to win this thing and he’s apparently failed so many times the people in the village he’s from were willing to do almost anything to get rid of him. I dunno how many times that took but I imagine that had to have been a few.” Odd agreed quietly, shaking his head before parting ways with Strange, each of them heading to a room of their own.
Awakening in the morning to the sounds of others fighting, Odd headed out of his room and, picking up something from the dining hall(where he discovered that he had missed breakfast), he headed out to the training yard. It wasn’t long until he discovered why it was, truly, that Carson failed at trying to win Maemen’s tournaments on his own. Arriving at the training yard only a short time(a matter of minutes) after he’d stopped by the dining hall, he found Strange and Carson training. With the latter being soundly stomped at every move he made. It seemed that Strange was better prepared to fight someone natively from this world than she was to fight a still-living Channeler who, like herself, was only a visitor to this realm.
Stranger to Odd was that it looked like every single one of Strange’s abilities altered and empowered one of Yuna’s attacks. Yet she had used Spectre’s Inferno back in Kalos. How peculiar. Had her abilities changed since then? His own had undergone some kind of metamorphosis since becoming a Channeler, after all. It had to be possible that it happened to other Channelers, right? He thought about these things while he watched Carson get his burning rump handed to him over and over again. After the most recent round of butt kicking, he interrupted the two of them.
“You’re holding back, aren’t you?” He asked, walking over to the Chandelure hybrid, who was still on the ground, and helped him to his feet.
“Do you want a crispy teammate?” Carson asked, sounding dead serious.
“We both know that if you wanted your flames to burn us, they would with or without your trying.” Odd stated with a glare that cut through the Chandelure hybrid. “You’re making a conscious effort to contain and control your fire. Why?”
Carson hemmed and hawed a bit, trying to avoid answering the question. “I recruited you and offered to help because I thought you wanted to win. If you don’t want that, I can wait around and find someone else who does.” Odd reminded him, the edge in his glare never dulling.
“Alright. Alright!” Carson finally submitted to the look he was receiving. “Just turn off the Channeling thing. Those eyes are freaking me out.”
Odd wasn’t sure what the hybrid meant by that but he softened his gaze, waiting for Carson’s reasoning. “I do want to win. But I know what my fire’s capable of and I don’t want to hurt anyone to win.”
Odd and Strange looked at each other, sighed simultaneously and shook their heads almost in perfect sync. “You have to let go of that, Carson. If you want to win that badly, you have to think of this tournament like a war. Anyone who’s not on your side, risks becoming a casualty, caught in the crossfire.” Strange told him.
“I get that you don’t want to hurt anyone but you have to be willing to take the risk in order to reap the reward.” Odd added. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt either but I have something I need to do here and if that means I’m forced to hurt someone, or several someones, in order to do so, I have to accept that it may happen.”
Carson sighed. They were right, he knew, but it wouldn’t change his decision to not hurt anyone. “You’re not wrong, obviously, but you don’t seem to be thinking about what a Chandelure’s flames do.”
“Litwick’s evolutionary family possesses the ability to burn the soul alone with their flames, leaving a living body as nothing more than an empty husk -a soulless ghoul in the mortal realm- but only if they so choose to. Litwick and it’s evolutionary family only burn the soul for sustenance. When battling for fun or exercise, their flames are no different than any other Fire-Type’s.” Odd recited, as if from memory. Carson and Strange both gave him a somewhat incredulous look. “What? I want to become a Ghost Sage and one of my favorite Pokemon to battle with is my Lampent.” He explained, though it didn’t change much now.
“So you’re saying that as long as I don’t want them to torch another spirit down here, they won’t?” Carson asked.
“Pretty much, ya.” Odd replied, turning around and walking back to the side of the yard to watch the next round. This time, things were more or less the same. By just after lunch, however, Carson was actually fighting to win and Strange was beginning to struggle against him when he decided to really go for an offensive burst. Around that point, they stopped and went inside to eat a late lunch.
“It took long enough but you’re finally starting to fight like you want to win.” Strange told her hybrid sparring partner as Yuna fluttered up to her shoulder, nodding in agreement.
“I imagine it will be different against other opponents. You fight unlike any other Channeler I have ever met.” Carson replied, referring to her ability to change the way her Pokemon’s attacks functioned. Strange nodded in agreement.
“We’ll find out after lunch. Odd will be your opponent then.” She announced.
“Oh, right! Put me on the spot like that with no warning, why don’t you?” Odd replied, a bit frustrated over his failure from the night before.
“Well, you might as well get used to it. There’s a good chance it’ll be happening a lot until this tournament’s over.” Carson countered Odd’s agitation with a bubbly attitude he hadn’t shown before, grinning from ear to ear rather than looking dour and sullen as usual when he spoke.
Odd heaved a heavy sigh, running his fingers through his hair nervously as he accepted that Carson was right. “Good point. I may as well.” He verbalised his defeat. “After lunch, then. We’ll have at it.” It was very clear that he still wasn’t one-hundred percent on board with this idea but he would do whatever he had to to try and get this team of misfits ready to go for the tournament.
After a short meal break, during which, Odd spent the time figuring out what he was supposed to do, the trio found their way back outside and returned to the training grounds. The battle that unfurled came hard and fast.
Odd ended up throwing up Black Fabric walls left and right, blocking out the fiery bursts from Carson at almost every turn. Utilizing Ouija Board, he conjured up wisps to strike out at the hybrid from to time. Luckily for him, he was able to slowly but surely gain ground. He never could get close enough to hit Carson with Soul Siphon but it was definitely a learning experience that allowed him to see where his weaknesses lay. By the end of the day, both Channeler and hybrid were exhausted with Odd no closer to his goal of learning a new ability.
By the end of the day, the trio were exhausted but felt like they were finally ready for the tournament to begin. They headed inside to the dining hall once more and had a decent dinner before going off to bed for the night.
~The next morning~
“Welcome, my tiny little peons, to the only entertainment you will be allowed for the rest of eternity!” Maemen’s voice boomed over Eda Arena, around which was built the city of Eda, the Central City of the circle of Greed. “You are here today, and in the following days, solely because I am bored and I have chosen to allow your presence during my fun!” The circle’s ruler exclaimed.
“He’s big on the whole ‘Showmanship’ thing. He’ll shut up soon.” Carson voiced, figuring Odd and Strange could benefit from a bit of encouragement through this.
“Good. He’s bad at this.” Odd replied in a deadpan voice. If Cadenza could have, he’d have nodded in silent agreement from his place beside Odd.
“The competitors have registered and prepared for their trials so let us watch as they struggle valiantly toward victory!” Maemen hadn’t stopped his showboating while Odd and Carson spoke so, at the very least, he should be about done by now, Odd figured. “The competitors know the rules already but for the rest of you…” Maemen paused for a moment, a heavy silence in the air as a few people tried to suppress their desire to know the rules as well. “You all shut up and watch!”
“Looks like it’s starting, finally.” Odd noted to himself only a moment before a voice rang out once again.
“The first round will consist of teams Urameshi and Grey, battling for dominance!” The voice exclaimed before a young hybrid rose up through the floor of the arena. “My name is Frill and I’ll be your MC for today’s matches!” She introduced herself, turning so that Odd could see her better. She was a female Frillish hybrid, it looked like. It was obvious where she got her name from. “The first round match will be one-on-one between individual team members with the first to reach two-out-of-three claiming victory!” Looking first to Odd’s team and then to the opposite side of the circular battlefield, she spoke once again. “Teams, send in your fighters!”
“So who’s going in first?” Odd asked his team members, turning away from the battlefield to look at them now.
“I say we see who they pick first.” Carson suggested, shrugging to indicate he didn’t have a preference.
Odd’s open palm found his face almost instantly. “We still need a default in case they have the same idea.” He responded, hoping to get a better answer this time. “What’s your strong suit?” He asked the hybrid, keeping his fingers crossed for an answer that would be useful.
“I can burn stuff.” Carson replied, a look on his face that clearly asked “Are you blind?”.
Odd’s palm found his face at speeds he’d never thought he could reach. “I had assumed as much.” He replied, withdrawing his hand and looking Carson straight in the eyes. “I meant in a fight. What’s your forte? Speed? Strength? Unpredictability? Do you fight based on stamina? Can you strategize in the middle of a fight? Anything?!”
“Um….I can burn stuff?” Carson offered once more, though this time, it came across as far more of a question of acceptance rather than an admission of talent.
“This might explain why you haven’t been able to win before…” Odd muttered under his breath, his nerves already feeling a bit shot from this conversation. “Moving on…” Turning away from Carson before he could allow himself to say anything else, he looked at is remaining teammate. “Strange? What’s your strength?”
“I’m more of a supportive fighter, to be honest. I’m not the strongest in a direct conflict but I can hold my own...provided the opponent doesn’t have too much stamina to outlast me.” Strange replied, Yuna cooing in agreement on her shoulder.
“Alright. Looks like I’m going first, then.” Odd decided. “Carson!” The hybrid jumped at the way Odd barked out his name, but it certainly got him to pay attention. “Think on it. Figure out what you’re good at -besides burning stuff- when it comes to fighting. We need to know that to strategize.” Odd ordered, though he wasn’t barking after demanding the hybrid’s attention, either. Carson nodded, acknowledging that Odd was right about that. “And Strange…” Sighing slightly, the Channeler looked to his female counterpart. “Don’t let Carson kill either of you while I’m fighting…” Strange smiled awkwardly and nodded. “We’ll still be here when you’re done!” She assured him.
The decision made, Odd climbed up onto the raised stone battlefield, Cadenza at his side. Walking to the center, the Channeler was a bit caught off guard when the small hybrid from before called out to him. “Um...Sir...Only one fighter per team is to battle in this round. Either you or Shedinja will have to leave.” Odd took a moment to consider her, determining from her position and what she said that she must be the referee.
“According to the rules, a Channeler and their primary partner are considered a single fighter. I can’t fight without Cadenza and he wouldn’t be allowed to fight in the Land Above without me since I’m his trainer as well.” Odd replied, glad that he’d had Strange help him study the rulebook they’d been given the night before.
“Uhhh…” The Frillish hybrid froze for a moment before pulling a rulebook out of….somewhere… and began flipping through it frantically. After about a minute of her frantic searching, Frill stopped and lit up, clearly having found what she was looking for. Taking a deep breath, she belted out to the crowd, her voice echoing over the roar. “In the event that a Channeler enters the Dark Tournament, he or she and a single Partner Pokemon may fight together. They will be treated as a single fighter with the condition that if either becomes incapacitated beyond the ability to continue the battle, the match goes to their opponent.” When Frill finished, she tucked the rulebook back into whatever place she’d pulled it from. “Do you accept the condition?”
“We wouldn’t both be up here if I didn’t. You agree, right?” He responded, directing his question to Cadenza. The Shedinja gave a no which amounted to little more than a forward rocking of his whole body.
“Very well. Team Urameshi?” Frill asked of the other team.
“Yeah, yeah!” The team captain exclaimed as he jumped up onto the battlefield as well.
“Alright, the combatants have been decided. Yusuke Urameshi versus Odd.” Frill shouted to the filled arena. “The first fighter to render his opponent unable to continue is the winner.”
“You ready?” Odd asked Cadenza, glancing to his side to see his partner.
“I was gonna ask you the same thing.” Yusuke remarked, a cocky smirk splitting his visage.
~That I am.~ Cadenza replied to his partner’s inquiry. He was ready to get this over with. Greed had become a tedious circle to deal with since Maemen had taken control.
~Alright. Let’s see how the fates favor us today…~ Oddresponded. His Spirit Chain began to glow from within as he focused his energy, channeling it into Cadenza. The Shed Pokemon began to glow ominously as well, the light emanating from the hole in his back. Odd began to pace around the battlefield, keeping Yusuke in his field of view. Yusuke watched Odd for a moment before turning his focus back to Cadenza. ~Attack!~
A wispy mass of energy emerged from Cadenza’s back, taking the ominous glow with it, mulling about uselessly. “Of course...Ouija Board is never on my side…” Oddd groaned. “Just great…”
Yusuke burst out laughing at the formless spirit. “You, uh… you gonna do something with that?” He asked, his derisive laugh hard to ignore. “My turn.” He announced, his laugh cut short as the air behind him warped, a Drifblim appearing out of seemingly nowhere. “It’s about time, Puu.” Yusuke’s hands began to shimmer as he poured energy into them.
“Uh-oh! It looks like Yusuke’s a Channeler too! Odd might not have as easy a fight on his hands as it looked like when this started!” Frill shouted from the sidelines, pulling double duty as commentator.
“Try on a Specter’s Shell!” Yusuke exclaimed, Puu winding it’s ribbons around themselves into a cannon-like barrel, aimed at Odd. Yusuke laid his hand on the barrel-like form and within an instant, a mortar-like bullet of Ghost energy erupted with a bang.
“Oh Shi-!” Odd yelped, throwing both arms out in front of himself. Cadenza reacted magnificently, a Silver Wind already in motion. The silvery, powder-filled gust blew across the battlefield, rising up between Odd and the incoming attack. In a flash of black, Odd’s Black Fabric ripped itself into existence and, while it held strong,it buckled under the pressure of Yusuke’s attack, the spiritual shell exploding with tremendous force.
Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:16 pm
With the first attack made, the two Channelers finally began a proper battle. Odd knew he’d be at a disadvantage unless he could get close, even as he moved to try and close the distance between them. Yusuke had both range and raw power on him. He couldn’t deny that. He could only attempt to get close and use his speed and stamina to his advantage. That and hope for the best.
Yusuke didn’t plan on giving him the chance, though. “Demon Bomb!” Yusuke’s exclamation was accompanied by a wild rush of ambient spiritual energy inward, toward himself. Odd nearly lost his footing when the energy pulsed inward, Cadenza rocked in the air at the same time. The Shedinja managed to resist the energy wave’s push. While the fluctuation didn’t cause any harm to Odd or Cadenza, it did drag the wisp Odd had summoned toward Yusuke and into his body. It was the sight of Yusuke’s partner swelling in size that caused Odd to realize what was happening.
“Let’s go!” Odd rushed in, ready to end this fight as fast as he could. That attack looked like it was based on Explosion from the way Yusuke’s Pokemon was expanding in size so letting his opponent get away with using it just wasn’t an option. Yusuke refused to move away from Puu even as Odd laid into him. Blow after blow, Odd used Soul Siphon in an effort to steal away as much of Yusuke’s gathered energy as possible. It wasn’t doing much.
“Why! Can’t! I! Hurt! You?!” Odd demanded an answer as he pounded his fists into his opponent.
Yusuke smirked, tanking Odd’s blows like a champion. “Because Puu shares Stockpile with me while we both charge up energy for this move.” He replied. “This is gonna hurt you a lot more than it does me.” He promised as he thrust his arms forward, an explosive blast of Ghost energy attempting to send Odd flying.
“You know… Explosions tend to work best when they go in all directions.” Odd quipped, looking down at Yusuke’s arms , elbow deep in his ethereal form. Intangibility to the rescue, it would seem. Standing nose to nose with Yusuke, Odd smirked. “It took long enough…”
“How are...you... doing this?” Yusuke grunted out, a pained looked on his face.
“I sensed it when I first summoned that spirit earlier. It would be useful if it actually listened to me…” Odd replied, stepping back and surveying the damage from Yusuke’s assault. Cadenza had managed to avoid it, thankfully, but the battlefield had been razed by the blast Yusuke had released. “You absorbed that spirit when you starting charging up that attack.” Odd pointed out. “You might not have noticed it then but I bet you sense it now, don’t you?”
“B-Bas...tard…” Yusuke grunted out, the spirit invading his body making it difficult at best for the channeler to swear at Odd.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t quite catch that.” Odd retorted, a wicked smirk spreading across his face. “That spirit must be pretty fast acting. “ He mused, looking at the now-deflated Drifblim behind Yusuke. “You’re suffering from something akin to chi poisoning.” He explained, recalling the effects of toxic, foreign energies on his friends. Lykas had begun to practically wither until he had overcome the chi poisoning and Ryan had grown weak and suffered tremendous pain when he’d been infected by Thing’s malice. If he chose not to extract the spirit now infecting Yusuke, the other channeler would end up begging for death before too long, he was certain of that.
“Bite me!” Yusuke barked out through grit teeth. Puu took that as a sign to attack, whipping up a nightmarish whirlwind of Ominous Wind and sending it cutting across the battlefield toward Cadenza. The Shedinja shook his immobile head inwardly before using Phantom Force to vanish into the Æther, rushing across the battlefield to strike from safety. Erupting from the unseen void, the Shed Pokemon ripped Ghost energy from his surroundings, bundling it all together and wrapping it around himself as he slammed into Puu from behind.
Yusuke gasped as Puu squealed in pain and lost a bit of altitude. “We’re not..done...yet!” The dark-haired male grunted, trying to fight through the pain wracking his body. He couldn’t even move well enough to try and fight any more at this point.
“Yes, actually. You are.” Odd replied, eyes narrowing as he prepared to deliver the finishing blow. “Maybe next time you fight, you’ll pay more attention to what you’re doing.” Drawing both hands back, Odd channeled his energy into them both, causing them to glow black. Thrusting his hands into the other male’s chest, he utilized Soul Siphon. Yusuke gasped, sucking air between his teeth at Odd’s touch. The feeling of his spiritual energy being ripped out was almost as painful as the spirit corrupting his energy.
“Bliiim!” Puu cried out, charging toward Odd with a Phantom Force of it’s own, attempting to save it’s partner. The Black Fabric that appeared around Odd and Yusuke snapped into being so fast it hadn’t even rippled the veil between the realms. Cadenza’s Silver Wind was blowing before Odd even attacked Yusuke, allowing the Channeler to focus his energy into physical form with no trouble. Puu slammed into it at full force, it’s attack dispersing as it crashed. Cadenza snickered and launched a Night Slash, a blade of corporeal Dark energy lashing out from the Shedinja’s halo like some macabre guillotine. Yusuke and his Pokemon hit the floor at the same instant, Odd drawing a long, wispy spirit from within Yusuke as the other male fell, releasing it into the sky afterward.
“I...I don’t know what just happened but…” Frill started, her enthusiastic commentary from a few moments before quiet and almost startled by Odd’s success. “I’m not sure how but Odd barely lifted a finger and Yusuke’s down!” She finally shouted to the stadium full of stunned onlookers. “I’ve never seen anything like this before but if Yusuke and his partner aren’t both standing again by 10, the victory goes to Odd!” Running over to Yusuke’s collapsed form, she hovered over him, counting loudly. “One!”
Odd stood there for a moment, trying to ignore the unsettling rippling feeling within himself. He’d felt it during that last attack, right around the time he’d used Black Fabric. A snap had shot through his being when the wall went up and he’d been feeling an uncomfortable numbness within his soul. ~We need to talk…~ He relayed to Cadenza, the Shedinja responding immediately.
~I know. I felt it too.~ Cadenza replied.
“Three!”
~The Drifter was right...The Spirit Chain is coming apart…~ Odd watched Frill count as he and Cadenza conversed within themselves. ~Are you going to trust him? What he said about the item he gave you?~ Cadenza asked.
“Five!”
~I have very little choice but to do so…~ Odd replied, silently and nearly unnoticeably shaking his head. ~We both know I’d rather not take the risk but the alternative is not an option.~ ~Truly. I have to agree.~ Cadenza nodded spiritually, his soul’s voice solemn in tone.
“Seven!”
Certain that Yusuke wasn’t getting back up, Odd turned away from his prone form and began to walk to the edge of the battlefield. According to the tournament rules, leaving the arena by choice before being declared the winner was a forfeit. Recalling that stipulation, the Channeler paused at the edge of the arena and waited.
“Nine...And Ten!” Frill finally finished the count, standing upright once again. “And the winner is Odd!” She exclaimed, her voice carrying over the crowd with incredible ease. There had to be something to that, Odd thought to himself as the Stadium roared. Some members of the audience cheered for Odd’s victory. Others jeered, calling him a cheater and declaring foul play.
Odd just ignored it all and jumped down from the battlefield, walking toward his teammates. “You’re up next.” He told Carson as he approached. His exhaustion started to show almost immediately as he approached Strange.
“You look like Death incarnate…” The woman told him as Carson headed into the battlefield.
“Thanks...I needed that boost of self confidence.” Odd retorted sarcastically, a small grin making an appearance. “I’m going to the locker room. I need some rest after that.” He told her, knowing she was right about his appearance. Heading toward the locker room, he began to meditate, attempting to release as much excess energy as possible. With the energy stored in his body after that battle with Yusuke, he was afraid the Spirit Chain wouldn’t be able to handle the strain of containing that on top of his own energy as well. His senses dulled as he focused on releasing the energy. Concerned that the energy would cause a problem if simply released and attempted to compress the energy as he released it.
~Sterling? Are you alright?~
“Hmm?” Odd responded, his concentration breaking as he was pulled from his meditation. “I’m fine… Just really tired after that fight.” He finally answered, looking directly at Cadenza now. “Why do you ask?”
Cadenza turned, looking off to the side and a bit behind Odd. ~Have you noticed anything strange?~
“Strange?” Odd asked, stopping now, just outside the locker room. Following Cadenza’s apparent gaze, he found himself looking at what appeared to be a whirlpool of emptiness swirling in the empty air., thin threads of what felt like spiritual energy being consumed by the swirling mass. It quickly faded away, however. “What was that?”
~You tell me.~ Cadenza replied, just as confused as Odd was. ~It felt like us….but also like nothing...~
“Us?” Odd was confused by that statement for a moment before he made a tentative assumption. “I was channeling? I’ve never been able to do that before…”
~Yes. I could feel you releasing foreign energy but that… It felt like it was our energy but it also felt like it was nothing at all. Like a void consuming the energy around it and ours was the only thing keeping it from growing.~ Cadenza explained. It was strange.
“I see…” Odd scratched his chin as he thought about what had just occurred, walking into the locker room and sitting down on one of the various benches. Turning his attention from the workings of that strange little void to the more pressing concern at the moment. “Do you remember what he said we needed to do for this?”
~I am not absolutely certain my memory is accurate but I believe the Drifter said that you only needed to place the Spirit Chain inside the handle and cap it again.~ Cadenza replied, inspecting the weathered sickle Odd was carrying as he unhooked it from his waist and looked it over, himself. ~Hopefully the rest will happen on it’s own, if there is anything else. I don’t recall any other instructions.~
Odd nodded to his partner, flipping and turning the farming tool in his hands over and over again. “I hate to agree with that but it sounds like we both got the same information…” He stated, finally resting the ancient agricultural device with the points of it’s crescent blade facing downward. Carefully removing the cap, he set it to his side and paused. “Last chance for us to change our mind…” He warned himself. Though it was meant more as an encouragement to not fail himself. He had little choice but to take this risk.
~To what, precisely?~ Cadenza questioned. ~To losing our bond? To being trapped her forever?~
“Good points.” Odd admitted, more to himself than to Cadenza. Slowly and carefully removing the Spirit Chain from around his neck, he unclasped the ends from one another and allowed the chain to droop, dangling loosely from his grip. Looking it over, he gave it what was to be it’s final inspection. Holding it out like this, he could properly see where it was weakest. The connection wasn’t the biggest problem, however. The link between two of the beads was certainly weaker but one of the two beads at that connection was now cracked. That must have been the snap he’d felt in the fight earlier.
In an attempt to maintain the integrity of his Artifact for what little of it’s existence yet remained, he cast a sphere of Black Fabric around the cracked bead, the sphere transparent and visibly weaker than it usually was. Without Cadenza providing him a material base to build upon, he simply couldn’t manifest the attack as he could before the Spirit Chain began weakening. Seeing that strengthened his resolve. “And so, into Eternal Night goes the living embodiment of our bond.” He announced, uncapping the hollowed handle of the sickle in his hand. With the abyss staring him in the face, he slowly began to lower the dangling string of beads he’d always channeled with into it. As each bead disappeared into the black void, a small flash of light accompanied the dissappearance. Odd was curious what the flash was but he was afraid that stopping now would permanently cost him his Channeling abilities. Not that this entire process didn’t run the same risk…
Once only a single bead remained unconsumed by the sickle, Odd heaved a deep, somewhat ragged breath, and released it. Reaching for the handle’s cap, Odd returned it to it’s rightful place and waited. And waited. And waited. “Is that it?” He asked, confused by the lack of changes.
“Dinja…”
“Wait...What’s going on?” He asked of the otherwise empty air, looking at Cadenza. He tried to ask Cadenza a simple question, trasmitting the inquiry through through their spiritual connection. Nothing happened, though. He tried again. Still nothing. “No!”
Jumping to his feet, Odd hurled the sickle across the room, the object clanging loudly as it bounced, the hollow noise echoing solemnly through the locker room. How could he had let himself believe that old man?! Glaring at the sickle for a moment, his gaze slowly moved to a mirror along the wall. “I have to withdraw us…” He realized aloud, his glare fading into a look of defeat. “I can’t participate in this tournament if I can’t Channel. I’ll get completely wrecked…” Falling silent at this point, he began to hear sounds from the battlefield.
“That was incredible!” Carson’s team takes their second victory, leading Team Grey to the next round!” Frill’s voice echoed over the crowd. Odd still wondered how she managed to be louder than the number of people in this place all gathered together.
“I don’t believe it…” Odd was utterly bewildered by that announcement. Carson had actually managed to win his fight? He was shocked more than anything else, by the fact that Carson had only trained for part of one day and had no clue what his specialty was on the field of battle yet he’d still managed to claim a win in the first round. Clearly that partial day of training had made a much bigger impact than it had seemed like it did.
“If Odd would enter the Arena once again, our Unannounced Rule will be explained in detail at this point.”
“Unannounced Rule?” Odd asked himself, his interest piqued by this revelation. Retrieving the rusted sickle he’d hurled across the room a few moments before and beginning to walk back to the arena, Cadenza following behind him very closely, he clipped the sickle back into place on his belt along the way. “What’s all this about?” He asked aloud as he reached the battlefield, jumping back up atop it, a small Telekinesis push from Cadenza assisting him in his current, weakened state.
“Alright, with both Team Captains present, I will now reveal the Unannounced Rule!” Frill cried out. Hauling her handbook back out of whatever hammerspace she kept it stored in, she opened the front cover and began to read aloud. “When a Team has won a round, the Team Captain may choose a single member of the defeated team to assimilate. The chosen individual will join their conqueror’s team or face execution!?” Frill practically screamed the final line as a question. “Looks like Maemen’s playing hardball this time around, folks!” Stowing her handbook once again into whatever pocket dimension it seemed to be pulled from at will, she turned back to Odd. “So who will it be, Odd? Who will you force to join your ranks?”
Caught just a bit odd guard at the revelation of this new rule, Odd was more off-kilter due to the presence on the other team that was both familiar and infuriating, especially after what had just transpired. He hadn’t seen them before fighting Yusuke and with what had just happened combined with this new rule, he already had his answer. Out of the four members of their team, only that one face mattered to him now that he’d seen it. “Him!” The young man stated clearly, pointing directly at the man hiding in the back.
“Odd has chosen Team Urameshi’s Driff!” Frill cried out, though she paused at the announcement. “He’s Team Urameshi’s backup member and he didn’t even fight. Are you sure you want him?”
“Hey, wait a minute!” Carson shouted from the ground, running up to the edge of the battlefield and looking up at Odd. “Don’t we get a say in this?!”
“No.” Odd replied harshly, glaring down at Carson. “You don’t.” He assured the Hybrid. “I am the team captain so the decision is mine to make.”
“Odd, please. While that may be true, remember that we are a team. At least hear us out.” Strange implored, walking up behind Carson with Yuna on her shoulder. “We may have insights you would want to consider.”
Odd turned his wrathful glare toward the other Channeler at this point. “There is nothing to discuss. I want him. That’s all there is to it.” He barked back at the both of them. Turning his gaze back to “Driff” as Strange cowed under his anger, he only got angrier from looking at him.
“Alright, Driff it is!” Frill shouted, turning to Team Urameshi. “Driff, do you accept or do you choose death?”
“Dieing sounds like such a hassle, especially since I haven’t finished being dead this time yet.” The old man responded. “I suppose I’ll accept.” All traces of the strange accent he’d had when Odd first met him were gone at this point and he didn’t seem all too concerned over the look Odd was giving him.
“There it is, Folks! Driff joins Team Grey for the second round!” The stadium around them erupted with a mixture of cheers and jeers. Odd’s team was clearly not the fan favorite.
“Prepare yourselves well, Team Grey. Round Two will take place in two days’ time!”
Jumping down from the battlefield, Odd pointed to Driff and motioned for him to follow, ignoring Carson’s objections as he started toward the Locker Room again. “What the hell, man?!” The hybrid shouted, demanding attention. “Just because you’re the ‘team captain’ doesn’t mean you get to make calls like that without us!”
“Carson, try calming down for a moment.” Strange interjected, cutting the hybrid off before he could start into a rant at Odd. “The captain of a team and the commander of an army have one thing in common - Both are responsible for ensuring victory for those who follow them.” She explained.
Carson looked at her for a moment before jabbing a finger through the air in Driff’s direction. “And how, pray tell, is this old geezer going to secure victory for us in any way?”
“He can get my Channeling back.” Odd asserted as he approached Driff, Carson and Strange’s looks of astonishment at his admission of powerlessness lost to the back of his head. Unhooking the sickle from his waist, he held it out to the man called “Driff” and barked an ordered at him. “Fix it!”
Driff shrugged without even looking at the ovject. “There is nothing to fix.” He replied with a shrug. “The process is simply incomplete as it is.”
Odd glared at him. “I did what you said. It didn’t work. Why?!”
“Have you tried asking it nicely? Perhaps you’ve begged? Commanded obedience?” Driff asked sarcastically. “Or, maybe, you’ve whispered sweet nothings to it and now it’s too embarrassed to perform?”
Odd glared at the old man for a very long minute, Cadenza hovering at his side, concerned and unable to convey his worry to Odd at the moment. Finally, the young mane huffed and turned to walk away. “I actually came here and joined a team hoping to see you again so I could tell you how to finish the transition.” Drff announced, the smug look on his face hidden from Odd’s view with his back turned as it was.
Odd paused with only a few steps’ distance between them. “Well?”
“I said that’s why I came. Not why I stayed…” Driff replied, absent-mindedly picking at his fingernails as he said it.
“You son of a-” Odd spun on his heel, drawing his arm back as he did. “-b***h!” As hard as he could swing, Odd’s strength, whatever there may have been in that punch, meant nothing when Driff moved. The old man’s speed was monumental. All in the blink of an eye, Driff swatted Odd’s fist away, knocked him off balance, pushed him to the ground and proceeded to sit on the white-haired male’s back as if he were a bench. Neither Strange nor Carson could have intervened if they had wanted to. Not that either was capable of much more than snickering at Odd’s bewilderment at the moment, anyway.
“You deserved that, you know.” Strange stated, watching as Driff stood up and pulled Odd back to his feet.
“Now then. You’ve had your swing and I’ve had my fun.” Driff announced, giving Odd a more concerned look. “Would you like the information I came here with, now?” The old man asked of the young male.
Odd glared at him for a moment before his wrath faded away. Beneath the mask of anger, desperation was clawing at his soul. He knew Driff had him beat and, somewhat begrudgingly, he accepted the defeat at last. “Yes…” He admitted, his heart sinking, he felt, into the pit of his stomach. “What do I have to do?”
Driff nodded in quiet acceptance of Odd’s change in attitude. “It’s very simple, really.” He replied with a smirk.”You’ve infused your own energy into the sickle by placing your original artifact inside, yes?” Odd nodded. “Then you need to reactivate your partner’s energy. Both must be infused in equal parts to function.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Odd inquired, both genuinely curious and not really buying such a simple answer.
“I’m curious about that as well… I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before…” Strange noted aloud, watching and listening intently.
“If I’ve been following along as well as I think I have, Odd attempted to replace his Channeling Artifact with a new one under the old man’s guidance and it didn’t work right.” Strange attempted to explain. “Generally speaking, a broken Artifact results in a Channeler losing their power permanently. Odd and the old man seem to think otherwise.”
Driff waggled a finger at Strange, tsking at her as he did. “We believe so because it is neither broken nor impossible to change a Channeler’s Artifact as long as it remains intact.” He told her with a devilish grin.
“Again. How?” Odd asked, growing irritated with Driff at this point.
“Very simple. Your Pokemon will need to jump start the energy in the original Artifact with an attack corresponding to the element the two of you command.” Driff explained. “And after that, the two fo your must decide, together, upon a name for the new Artifact, sealing the bond within a Living Entity.”
Odd gave Driff a funny look at the last bit. “We have to name it? Like a pet or a baby?”
“Like a living creature. All living things are given a name at birth, whether they choose to keep that name as they grow or not. A name is a personal and powerful form of magic that has existed since the dawn of language.” Strange supplied in response. “The power of a name is a magic that cannot be denied, no matter if it is used for Channeling, spellcasting by witches or other forms of mystical power.”
“Indeed.” Driff agreed. “Giving your Artifact a name decided upon alongside your partner imbues it with a deep understanding of the beings it connects.” He explained.
Odd shrugged, not quite understanding just what they meant. “If you say so.” He agreed, looking to Cadenza as he set the sickle on the bench between the sets of lockers. “Use Ominous Wind on it…” He instructed, though he wasn’t sure what to expect now. Cadenza approached the blade and a wicked purple-black wind poured from the hole in his back, a Ghostly gale slowly whipping up as the Shedinja’s apprehension faded. The wind wrapped itself around the sickle and began to spin, forming a whirlwind or Otherworldly energy that lifted the blade into the air and caused it to begin spinning in the direction the wind circled itself.
Odd and his teammates watched, all with bated breath, as Cadenza’s attack spun the grizzled old tool over and over until it stood upright, spinning like some deformed top. As the winds blew ‘round and ‘round the blade, it began clear that the ancient object was drinking the energy of it in. After several long moments of the distorted spinning, a strange sort of light flashed from within the blade and Cadenza cut his attack short, watching with amusement and morbid curiosity as the whirlwind of his attack caved into itself, the remaining energy being swallowed up by the tool-turned weapon. The flash of light from a moment before had now engulfed the object in a brilliant mask of light, obscuring it from view entirely for the moment. As the light dulled and the wind died down, the blade fell to rest once more upon the bench with a dull “clang”. The light relented as it rested upon the bench once more. All watching could clearly see something had happened for certain this time. The ancient, rusted tool had been restored to new. It’s hand deep black and smooth, like cold steel and it’s slightly curved blade had warped into an evil-looking crescent just the right size to harvest limbs with. Briefly looking to Cadenza, Odd returned his gaze to the sickle with confidence.
“Wraith Harvest is your name!” ~Wraith Harvest is your name!~
Nothing visible happened but Odd and Cadenza could both feel a tingling surge of energy passing through them. The energy felt familiar but still, somehow, alien to them. It was a bit different from what they had grown so accustomed to but perhaps it was simply that the energy within them flowed more smoothly. There was far less of a rough feeling as their energy was shared between them, flowing back and forth in a continuous ebb and flow that was quickly becoming less foreign-feeling.
“How do you feel now?” Driff asked, watching Odd pick up the newly-dubbed Wraith Harvest.
“I heard Cadenza again when we named it… That’s a pretty good feeling in itself.” Odd replied, a small, almost giddy laugh echoing within his chest. Cadenza clearly shared his sentiment.
“A word of caution for you, then.” Driff said, cutting into Odd’s moment of celebration. “Don’t go rushing into battle without some practice first. Changing one’s Artifact like this can alter existing Channeling abilities.” He explained. “And given that your own was a sort of ‘Training Artifact’, there is a high probability of drastic changes.” The old man warned.
“Okay...Happy, happy, joy, joy. Are we done with this feel-good fest yet?” Carson asked, ready to go back to his prior ranting. “We need to talk about that attitude problem earlier.”
“No, we don’t.” Odd cut him off. “The two of you as well as Driff, now, will have plenty of say in who joins us when we win the next round. Yes, it was harsh to do what I did to get Driff on the team but how far would we have gotten if one of us couldn’t fight?” He asked of the hybrid, crimson eyes falling on him now that his nerves and his rage had been calmed.
“Well…” Carson looked justs a bit sheepish at this. He understood Odd’s reasoning and he knew Odd was right. They needed them all to be able to fight in order to succeed but he still didn’t like how this had all played out.
Strange clapped her hands together at this point, drawing attention to herself. “Alright, we have two days to train some more and get ready for the next round! Or in Odd’s case, to possibly learn all over again…” She announced, Yuna nodding in agreement with her. “So why don’t we go get some food and then get an early start on that?”
Carson nodded. “I’m all for lunch!”
Odd looked to Cadenza before nodding as well. “I’m not all that hungry after all this but I’m willing to try eating a bit before we get started on training again.”
Driff shrugged. “I’d be glad to join you all but I have other things to be doing instead.”
“So you’re not to do any training with us?” Odd asked.
“I’ll be training plenty but my strength lies in knowledge. I’ll see you all back here for the next round with plenty of information to share.” Driff replied, walking to the locker room door and waving as he headed out.
“Alright. Go do your own thing, then.” Odd muttered, offering a tiny wave to the old man as he disappeared.
“Why’d you let him leave like that?” Carson asked, leading the way out of the locker room, toward the exit of the colosseum entirely.
“Look at it this way, if he comes back with useful information, great! If not, how much worse off are we? We’re going in blind anyway if he doesn’t come back with some info for us.” Odd replied, following Carson rather calmly.
“Yeah but if he doesn’t show up, we’ll be down a man and-”
“Have either of you seen this?” Strange called from behind them, interrupting Carson without really meaning to. She was a fair distance behind the two males when they turned to look at her and she was pointing at something on the wall.
“What is it?” Odd asked as he started to walk back toward the female Channeler.
“Looks like the tournament bracket…” Carson replied, looking over Odd and Strange’s shoulders at the poster on the wall. “And it looks weird.”
Odd wasn’t able to make any more sense of it than either of his team mates, though for different reasons, when he got there and started to look at it. Rather than using pictures to represent the individuals as most modern screens used in the Land Above, this place used an older format with the team names written in by hand into their respective slots. The result was a mess of jumbled letters that made no sense to him as he looked over it. “That is weird. Whoever this team is, they only have to win three out of five rounds to win…” He said as he pointed to a name set off to one side.
“That’s us…” Strange pointed out, giving Odd and the board both a confused look. “Why would they set us up like that? It gives us an unfair advantage.”
“Because it doesn’t.” Odd replied, realizing aloud what it meant. “That actually leaves us with a huge disadvantage. Remember that ‘Unannounced Rule’? That’s where we’re losing out.”
“It’s to make things fairer for everyone else.” Carson realized.
“Right. Brackets like this, especially where gambling is in play, are typically given to the ‘underdogs’. The ones with the lowest projected chances of winning.” Odd supplied as further reasoning.
“The other teams can cover all of their weaknesses from the start of the tournament with as many as four additional members.” Strange counted, beginning to see where Odd was going.
“Exactly. We only get two.” Odd nodded, glad that his team mates could see where this had gone without needing much explanation. “They don’t expect us to make it that far so why give us more chances to fail?”
“If they keep following the ‘Majority Rules’ victory condition… Then we’ll be required to have every member of our team fight in the finals and may have to have someone fight twice if someone’s incapacitated before then…” Strange was starting to wonder if they stood any real chance now.
“And that’s only if we manage to make it through the next round…” Carson realized. The odds of them actually winning were slowly creeping into his consciousness.
“Believe it or not. We’ve already improved our odds by winning the first round.” Odd replied. “But let’s not think about that. Let’s focus on our training.”
“We’ll just have to make sure we’re better than the other guys!” Strange announced, her conviction steeling her heart for the challenge ahead of them.
“Right!” Odd agreed, turning away from the bracket board and leading the way back out of the colosseum now.
~You realize how hard this will be for us, don’t you?~ Cadenza asked, his voice easier to pick up on now than it had been in the past. ~Ya, I do… But if we’re going to stand a chance, I can’t have these two giving up yet.~ Odd replied, silently glad to hear words from his partner once more. Cadenza followed after Odd as they conversed, remaining between the Channeler and his team mates. The Ghost-type didn’t quite trust either of them yet.
The quintet made their way through the City, which Odd found out from Carson was named “Eda City” in the morning, prior to leaving for the tournament grounds. He’d made a joke about the prevalence of puns in the Otherworld but it really didn’t matter and he knew it. The streets were curiously empty with the first round of the tournament over, though no one inside seemed to notice. Everywhere the group went, Odd saw people bustling about inside their homes and businesses as if they were the busiest they had ever been.
“Is everyone here preparing for tomorrow?” Strange eventually asked, having taken as well.
“Nope. This is an average Tuesday for the citizens of Eda City. They have to be ready for a random visit from Maemen at all times.” Carson explained. “Remember how I said that the city is inhabited by the winners of Maemen’s past tournaments? This is both reward and punishment for them.” He shook his head, thinking of it. “Expected to entertain the psycho-in-charge to his liking with no warning whatsoever all in exchange for freedom from the mines…”
“How awful…” Strange gasped in response, a hand covering her mouth as she did. “Odd and I aren’t permanent fixtures here. We can escape from this place one way or another… But what about you?” She asked of their hybrid companion.
“I have my ways.” Carson responded confidently.
Odd remained quiet for now. The more Carson told them about this place, the more he questioned if the hybrid was telling the truth about who he was. Regardless of Carson’s truthfulness, he continued to lead the way back to their hotel.
“I’m starving!” Carson exclaimed as he burst through the hotel doors a bit later.
“I’m quite famished, myself.” Strange nodded in agreement, Yuna nodding silently on her shoulder.
“I’m not really hungry…” Odd reiterated his assertion from the colosseum. “Go on and get some food. I get the feeling I’m going to need some extra training, anyway so I’m gonna go ahead and get started.” He told the other two, waving them off at the dining hall before he continued out to the training yard.
“Alright… We’ll join you shortly.” Strange replied with a small wave to the male Channeler as he walked away.
Heading out to the training yard, Odd looked to Cadenza and let out a sigh. “You ready to figure out how different everything is?” He asked the Shedinja, unhooking and lifting Wraith Harvest up to eye level so he could really look at it again.
~About as ready as you are.~ Cadenza replied.
“Well… Do or die time…”
Odd felt Cadenza’s spiritual nod and watched him levitate over to the other side of their chosen arena. They’d absently walked to a wrestling wring set in one corner of the yard and now, figuring the small size of it might be good for quick learning, they were ready to spar. “Just do whatever comes to mind and I’ll see what comes out to counter it…” The Channeler instructed his partner.
~Very well. Prepare yourself.~ Cadenza replied, silvery powder pouring from the hole in his back. The air around the Ghost-type glittered as the powder built up until, in a sudden rush, the wind picked up and carried the powder toward Odd in a frenzied gale. The Silver Wind cut apath across the ring like a silvery knife, making Odd sweat the closer it got. How was he going to block this?
“Black Fabric!” Odd exclaimed, pouring out the protective energy he needed to defend himself while swinging Wraith Harvest through the air in front of him. Expecting to see a black wall flash into existence, he was surprised when nothing happened. Seeing the lack of wall, he now expected himself to be hit by the incoming attack at any second. Except that it never happened. He as still safe and nothing was hurting him. No wind. No silver powder. No chi pummeling him like rocks thrown by an army of children. “Um… What?”
~Sterling, look there!~
Following the spiritual nudges from Cadenza that would direct his sight to where the Shedinja wanted him looking, he spotted what he’d been directed to, at last. The source of his salvation hung in the air, rigid and unmoving a short distance from himself, Cadenza’s attack split around it. A thin, frail-looking band of silver light, similar in form to Cadenza’s own halo, split the Silver Wind around it, the powder and winds following a rounded shell of almost-visible white light emerging from it. “That’s you…” The Channeler told his partner, though he wasn’t really quite sure how he knew that.
Guardian Halo; Born of Wonder Guard. Consecrated space where spirits are disallowed from passing it’s borders.
~What do you mean that’s me?~ Cadenza asked, halting his attack.
“It’s called Guardian Halo and it came from you… Your Wonder Guard, specifically.” Odd replied, trying to explain what the strange little voice in the depths of his soul had just said. He’d heard that voice before but where? And who was it?
With their training already having produced some results, the pair continued on, with Odd discovering that pretty much all of his skills had changed, it would seem. He could now summon spectral flames called ‘Wicked Wick’ thanks to his bond with Adagio and her Inferno attack. The flames fed on evil, according to the little voice inside of him, hence the name. After the flames had shown themselves, he learned that he could summon ghostly arms from his shadow thanks to his bond with Baroque and Treble. The ribbon-like arms, he learned, were called Ramses Curse and the ability came, mostly from Baroque’s Mummy ability, leaving him to mostly use it for restricting victims of his other moves.
Toward the end of his training session, Odd discovered one more new skill. He could forge a weapon from his Ghost-like chi, forming it into a sort of spear or halberd. According to the tiny voice within, this one came from the still-growing bond with Entr’Acte and it seemed to be inspired by his potential rather than what he could do now. It could, however, be used both to attack and to defend himself.
By the time Odd had learned all he could before wearing himself out completely, Strange and Carson arrived at last. “Sorry we took so long!” Strange apologized, waving politely to gain Odd’s attention.
“It’s fine.” Odd assured, stopping to wave in greeting as well. Then everything suddenly went black. From his perspective at least. The Channeler hadn’t realized how much energy he’d spent today, the revelation hitting him like a runaway Bouffalant. His body went limp and the world fell into blackness even as he was still waving to his teammates, the Channeler collapsing into the dirt at his feet, passed out cold.
“Is he dead?” Carson asked, ignoring Strange’s gasp of shock and horror at the way Odd collapsed, falling to the ground like a sack of rotten berries. “I bet he tastes good… If he’s dead, can I eat him?”
“He’s not dead!” Strange snapped back at the hybrid. “And no, you can’t eat him!” Nodding to Yuna, the Oricorio hopped off of her shoulder, strutter over to Odd’s side and began an intricate dance. “Heaven Help Him…” The staff on Strange’s back began to glow, a soft light emanating from between the wings on it’s end. As Yuna danced and Strange’s staff glowed, feathers began to rise from the Oricorio, a golden light engulfing each one. The feathers floated into the air, hung in the empty space for only a moment and then descended once more to land on Odd, transferring their golden light into his body. As Odd’s body absorbed the light from Yuna’s Featherdance, his minor scratches healed, the small wounds “stitching” themselves shut without a trace, a golden light tracing along the length of each one until they were all gone.
“I don’t understand…” Strange muttered as she watched Odd heal, Yuna’s dancing coming to an end along with the rain of feathers as she waited for something else to happen. “Why isn’t this working?! He should be waking up again by now!” She exclaimed, leaning over and trying to find some sign of life from the male.
“Dinja shed shedinja sheeeeeee….” Cadenza replied, his physical voice ancient and croaking, like old paper wrinkling as he told Strange that Odd was, in fact, alive.
“Maybe he’s just tired?” Carson suggested. “He did go through a lot today. Especially if what happened in the locker room earlier was as true as it looked like it was.
“I hope so…” Strange agreed, nodding as she looked between Odd and Carson. “Let’s take him to his room and let him rest, then, I suppose.” She suggested, hooking her arms under Odd’s own. Carson grabbed the channeler’s legs around his knees and helped lift him. Cadenza, following along after the other two, utilized his Telekinesis to help mitigate the Channeler’s weight a bit, but he couldn’t do much else at the moment. He was too drained, himself. The duo that were Odd’s teammates made it to his room without incident and placed him on his bed with Strange ensuring he’d left nothing behind in the training yard before closing up the room and leaving Cadenza to watch over the other Channeler through the night. “Please wake up…”
“We’ll need your help in the next round, man.” Carson muttered under his breath, following Strange from just outside Odd’s room all the way back to the training yard. With their team captain incapacitated and unable to train with them, the pair decided they may as well get what practice they could on their own. There wasn’t much point in worrying about Odd tonight, after all. They had no idea if his collapse was anything to worry about yet, after all. They’d make that decision tomorrow.
In Odd’s unconscious state, he could hear a voice whispering to him. Something about his powers and the way they were unfolding. “Who are you?”
~I am the bond.~
“What do you mean?”
~I am you. I am he.~
“You don’t make any sense…”
~I am the Wraith. Harvester of souls. I am the bond made manifest.~
“Wraith? Harvester? Are you my Artifact?”
~Indeed! There is a new power within you now, aching to escape.~
“A new power? How do you know? And how are you even speaking to me?”
~I speak to your soul when your power swells. I know all that you can do and I know how you are able.~
“What is this new power, then?”
~Abberant Excorcism!~
“Gah!” Odd yelped, jumping up in his bed, looking around frantically. “That was a weird dream…”
~You experienced it as well?~Cadenza asked, rising up from his resting place on the floor and floating over to Odd’s bedside.
“Since you’re asking, I’ll assume the answer is ‘apparently so’.” Odd replied, glancing over to his bedside table to where Wraith Harvest laid quiet and calm, a voice unseaking resting within he felt sure. Had it been the Artifact that had been speaking to him, explaining to him what his new abilities were and where they came from? “Where you told about a new power we share?” He finally asked, looking back to Cadenza.
~That I was. As well as that the power in question draws it’s power from me.~ Cadenza responded, sounding a bit confused even as he revealed that information.
“Abberant Exorcism…” Odd muttered quietly. “I wonder what it does?” He wondered to himself.
~The only way to truly know would be to use it and see what happens, I suppose?~ Cadenza suggested, unsure if any other course of action would yield an answer. With a silent nod from Odd, the duo made to leave the room. As Odd rose from his bed, however, he stumbled and fell flat on his face. “Ow…” He grumbled through the floorboards pressed against his poor, unfortunate face.
Looking down at whatever had tripped him, Odd found a tray of half-squished foodstuff laying in wait for him. Apparently. With no warning that such would be there, he hadn’t been expecting it and stepped right into whatever squishy food-like thing it was. Part of the stuff was scattered across the floor around him and the tray at this point. Sitting up, he started to clean up the mess, spotting a small notecard of some sort propped against the bed-side of the tray. Discarding it along with the ruined bits of food, he figured there was no point in bothering with it anyway. He couldn’t read it so what good would it do him to make the effort?
Cadenza, however, appeared to think differently. ~Sterling, you should look at this.~ He voiced, utilizing Telekinesis to lift the note and hold it up for the Channeler to see it. “Enjoy these Bloodberries! They should help you recover from your training ordeal more quickly.” Odd read aloud, through a large mouthful of the rather delicious berries, a small trickle of deep red juice trickling down his chin as he did. “So? What -is- a Bloodberry, exactly?” He asked, pausing for a moment to look more closely at them. The fruits were a deep crimson, heart-shaped and filled with a viscious, deep red juice that reminded him very much of blood.
~Shouldn’t you be more concerned with the fact that you just read that with no trouble?” Cadenza asked, letting the note fall from the air as he said it.
“I did?” Odd asked, truly stopping for a moment to consider the last few moments. “Holy crap, I did! How?!” He asked, the realization suddenly dawning on him.
~That is a very good question and one that only serves to confuse us further at the moment.~ Cadenza replied. ~As for the berries, they’re a fruit that only grows in the Underworld by feeding on the excess spiritual energy that flows freely through the realm.~ He followed up with, attempting to explain to Odd what he was eating. ~They’re said to grow a soul of their very own if allowed to fully mature. They rarely get the chance.~
“So I’m eating something with a soul?” Odd asked, attempting to glean some inkling of a joke or a ‘Gotcha!’ moment from Cadenza. The spiritual nod he felt denied him that, though. “Well, damn. I guess souls taste pretty good, then.” The thick red juice dripping from the corners of his mouth were evidence of his hunger and his failure to maintain some degree of etiquette while eating, lending him the appearance of a feasting, blood-starved beast.
It didn’t take him long to finish the strangely morbid meal, at which point Odd stood, stretched and waved for Cadenza to follow after him. The Shedinja on his heels, Odd lead Cadenza outisde to the training yard, already feeling somewhat better. When he got outside of the hotel, he found Strange and Carson already in the training yard and sparring with one another. “Hey...uh...How’d I get to bed last night?” He asked a bit sheepishly, approaching with caution so as to avoid getting in the way of his teammates’ attacks.
Strange froze at the sound of his voice, looking around for Odd without bothering to remember where she was or what she was doing at the time. Her freezing left her open and exposed to Carson’s next attack, which he failed to stop himself from releasing before it was too late. The weak Acid splashed onto Strange’s leg, near her ankle, despite Carson’s attempt to divert his attack to the side and away from her when she stopped. The female channeler hissed in pain, sucking air between her teeth as the caustic attack began to dissolve her flesh already.
“Crap! Sorry!” Carson yelped, rushing toward her with flames engulfing his hands already. Swiping his flame-coated hands across the toxic substance he’d sprayed his new friend with, he dried and removed it before any more harm could be done. “That was accident! I swear I tried not to hit you with it…” He muttered, sounding like he was trying to convince himself that he hadn’t harmed Strange on purpose.
“It’s alright… I saw you pull your punch at the last second.” Strange replied. “It’s my own fault for freezing up like that. Thank you for getting rid of it, though.” She assured him with a smile on her face. She was trying to hide the pain behind that smile, even Odd could tell that from where he was standing. She wanted to let Carson believe that he hadn’t hurt her so he could focus. “How are you feeling, Odd?” She asked after a moment, diverting attention from herself and her own minor injury.
“Ya, you were practically dead when we got out here. You dropped like a sack of potatoes right in front of us, even.” Carson informed the Channeler. “Good thing it was us, too. Don’t think anyone else would have been kind enough to go tuck you in, ya know?” He laughed as he stood up and offered a hand to Strange, helping her to her feet.
“Well that answers that question…” Odd muttered to himself with a small chuckle. He’d been wondering that since he woke up but what had been the point in asking before now? “I’m feeling strangely rested in spite of the weird dreams I had all night. He replied to Strange’s question at last, stretching a bit as he did. “How are you two doing? Get any training done without me?”
Carson and Strange shared a look between them for a moment before Strange spoke. “We tried getting a bit of training in after we took you to your room…”
“But, for some reason, we couldn’t stop worrying about you long enough to concentrate.” Carson concluded her admission. “For some reason, even though you ticked me off yesterday, I couldn’t help myself.”
“Nor could I.” Strange agreed.
Odd was a bit bewildered by the admission. He had been under the assumption that the three of them had simply formed their team out of convenience. Each of them had a goal to accomplish and needed the others’ help in order to reach those goals. “You guys...were worried? About me?” He finally asked, dumbfounded still.
“Ya, believe it or not. I know I didn’t when I realized I kept thinking about whether or not you were okay.” Carson replied, a boisterous laugh erupting from him, his flame echoing the laugh as they grew in size and intensity for a moment, dieing down as Carson’s laugh faded away.
“There’s something about you that makes it very difficult to not grow to like you.” Strange added, standing a bit shakily on her wounded leg. “So after we took you off to bed, we went outside of town and found some berries that are supposed to be good for recovering souls.”
“So the Bloodberries were from you two?” Odd asked, offering Strange his shoulder to help her regain her balance.
“Is that what those were?” Strange asked Carson, laying her hands on Odd’s offered shoulder and tentatively putting pressure on her foot. Her ankle thrummed as she did, the Acid burn stinging painfully but not preventing her from standing.
Carson nodded. “Yeah, they’re kinda creepy but they’re great for helping weakened souls to recover.” He replied, looking Odd over as he did. “It definitely looks like they worked their charm.”
“I’ll say!” Odd agreed with the hybrid, nodding as he flexed his hands, feeling his strength rapidly returning since he’d eaten the Blood berries.
“That’s wonderful to hear.” Strange cheered, looking down to Yuna, who was perched on her foot, examining her wounded ankle. “Right, Yuna?” She asked the Oricorio.
“Coriiii!” The Lavender bird cooed in reply, a smile in her eyes.
“Are you two ready for some more training?” Odd finally asked.
“Totally!” “Absolutely!”
“Let’s get to it, then!” Odd responded, clapping his hands together and looking over to Cadenza, who’d been resting by the side of the hotel while the human(ish) trio conversed.
~I agree! I feel Strangely energized and I’m eager to see what we can do now.~ The Shedinja replied.
“So who’s up first?”
Carson jumped at the offer, patting at his clothes and knocking some dust loose. “I’m ready!” He volunteered.
“I will be as well, shortly.” Strange assured the other Channeler. “I just need a few minutes to patch this up…” She said, pointing to the acid burn on her ankle. “Heaven Help Me…” She muttered as she held a hand out and Yuna began to dance. While the feathers she produced had a slight golden glow to them, they didn’t bind to the girl’s wound. Instead, they collected in her hand and formed a downy bandage of glowing feathers, which she began to wrap about her ankle.
Odd and Carson were busy with their sparring already and paid no attention to Strange’s efforts at healing her own wounds. The Pair appeared to be more evenly matched this time around than they had been in their first match prior to the tournament’s start. Every time Carson threw a Fire-type attack, Odd hurled blue flames of his own to counter them, though it seemed like the stronger attacks took a bit longer to stop. Odd’s flames didn’t just stop Carson’s, however. It almost seemed like they actively “ate” the hybrid’s spirit energy infused fire.
If Carson tried attacking with Acid, Odd would conjure a Guardian Halo, blocking out the corrosive toxins quite effectively. Unfortunately for Carson, since he only had a few Fire-type moves and Acide to work with, he couldn’t get far without overpowering or sneaking his way around Odd’s defenses.
“Giratina’s Wings, you’re a lot harder to hit now!” Carson griped as he turned his flames into a faster mode of locomotion, using small indigo Flame Bursts to propel himself through the air, he gained speed rapidly. Before Odd really had a chance to figure out what Carson was doing, the hybrid launched a plume of flames from his right elbow, spinning himself around to throw a rapid, aerial roundhouse kick toward the Channeler’s head. “If I can’t burn you, I’ll just break you!” He shouted, though he didn’t intend any true damage. He’d just gotten a bit carried away.
Throwing his arms into the air in the effort to defend himself, Odd conjured a Guardian Halo around himself as well, though he wasn’t sure if it was close enough: It stopped nothing and despite a very clear blow to Odd’s head, neither the Channeler nor his sparring partner felt anything.
“...You missed?” Odd asked as he lowered his arms, blinking in confusion. “How?!”
Carson landed on his left foot, nearly falling over after having expected to land some kind of blow on Odd after that. “Good question…” He replied as he regained his balance. “I could’ve sworn I hit you!” Standing back upright and tapping his foot on the ground, Carson looked back at Odd. “I can definitely still feel my foot so it has to be something you did…”
“But I didn’t do anything you didn’t see…” Odd replied, his confusion no less than it had been a moment ago.
“You did hit him.” Strange offered from the sidelines, her ankle now bound in her glowing feather bandage. “Except, you also didn’t…”
“That doesn’t make any sense…” Carson replied, throwing his hands into the air in frustration.
“It makes perfect sense.” Strange responded, walking over to Odd with a much more stable step than she’d hand when the sparring match started. “Or it will after I explain, at least.” Carefully placing a hand on Odd’s chest, she asked a simple question. “You feel that, yes?” She asked. Odd nodded. “How about this?” She tapped lightly on his chest this time, a small flicker of her finger being the only sign of her movement at all. Odd nodded again, more confused now, Strange’s actions and questions proving nothing yet. “And what about this one?” The female Channeler’s face contorted as she quickly drew her hand back and threw a punch at the other Channeler’s gut. Her fist made no contact, however. Instead, it resided within Odd’s flickering body, the male Channeler’s form flickering like the screen of an old television set.
“What happened?” Odd asked, blinking in confusion and looking rather like a lost Mareep lamb once again. “Where’s the pain?”
“There’s not any… Carson realized now that he’d seen it with his own eyes what Strange had meant. Odd appeared to be reflexively becoming intangible when he saw physical attacks coming at him.
“That’s...Definitely odd…” Odd said to himself, looking down at Strange’s hand in his torso, the static-like flickering the most intense directly around the woman’s fist.
“Very odd indeed, however useful!” Strange agreed, withdrawing her hand at last and watching Odd’s form stabilize once again. “Are you ready for the catechism?” She asked as he reached to her back and pulled the staff held there free from the leather sheath that held it safe and secure for her. She spun the staff around between her fingers and pointed the head of it at Odd. “I may not be a good fighter on my own but Angelbreath has never failed to defend me when I needed it to.” Yuna spun a small dance in time with Strange’s spin of the staff, pointing her fan-like wingtips at Odd as well. Feeding upon the divine energy the woman was projecting, Yuna processed the sanctified Chi and transformed it.
What followed came as both a shock and a rather expected sort of skill from Strange. Yuna’s transformation of the chi Strange fed to her resulted in the Ghost bird reciting a series of questions and quotations from the Word of Arceus. The ancient book the modern religion was founded on was often used by the Church to prepare their followers for a proper indoctrination. Try as he might to resist the effects of whatever the other Channeler and her Pokemon were doing, though, he found himself inexplicably drawn forward, toward Yuna and Strange. ~What the...here… is happening?! Why can’t I stop?!~ He asked Cadenza, whom he could see was moving forward as well, the Ghost seemingly unable to resist, either.
~Your guess is as good as mine at this point!~ The Shedinja replied, still strangely calm in the face of whatever force was compelling him and his partner to continue walking.
Odd continued his attempts to resist the force pushing him to move against his will but to no avail. He continued Infernoon, one step after another. “Heaven Help You!” Strange declared, spinning Angelbreath around again and stepping forward slightly. Yuna’s slow dance and recitation stopped, replaced by a frenzied new one, kicking up feathers encased in golden light. The feathers moved quickly, caught in a weak wind created by Yuna’s flapping as she danced about, fluttering toward Odd and Cadenza. ODd recognized the attack and realized he could move of his own volition once again just in time to try and defend himself. He attempted to summon a Guardian Halo in an effort to defend himself but it didn’t seem to do much in the way of blocking out the divine light generated by the exploding feathers. The concussive force, on the other hand, was mostly stopped, preventing him from being thrown about. He was covered in small burns, though. Luckily, Cadenza being able to avoid the issue of needing legs to move him, was able to avoid the attack with relative ease.
“That move seems a bit overpowered…” Odd quipped as he stood there, covered in small burn marks and seeing spots. “How can you harm and heal with the same ability?” He asked, looking himself over. The burn marks looked more like they’d been caused by cigarettes rather than tiny magic cherry bombs and they stung fiercely but nothing too bad, really.
“Trade Secret.” Strange replied with a mischievous grin splitting her visage. “I will tell you it takes quite a lot of focus, though so it’s certainly not as easy as it looks.”
“Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, honestly.” Odd replied, spinning Wraith Harvest in his hand, a small blue flame sparking to life in the center of it’s crescent-shaped blade. “See...I can burn you, too!” He exclaimed, swinging his Artifact through the air as the flame between the tips of it’s blade began to grow. At the apex of his swing, the small-ish flame exploded outward, into a wildfire racing through the air and threatening to consume all in it’s path.
Rather than using her Channeling to escape the all-consuming inferno coming at her, Strange nodded to Yuna and waited, seemingly completely calm and collected. Yuna responded with a quick flap of her wings, followed by a second flap, which sent a flurry of buzzsaw-like blades ripped from the very air itself flying toward Odd and converging on a single point in the center of the inferno he’d sent toward them. The result was a momentary vacuum as Yuna’s Air Cutter ripped apart the air fueling the flames, sucking them inward, the fiery wall folding in upon itself, coiling around where it could not, or would not, fold until it had formed into a compact bubble of fire. Strange easily evaded the hollow ball she had turned Odd’s attack into. “You have power, I’ll give you that. But your new abilities still lack finesse.” She chided, smiling as she watched Carson move to intercept Odd’s flames, using his Flash Fire to absorb the spiritual flames.
“Wonderful damage control!” She praised the hybrid, who seemed to be feeling a bit sick after soaking up that attack. Before Odd really had time to process that she was even paying attention to him again, the woman darted toward him and lashed out with Angelbreath to try and smack him.
Odd threw his arms into the air, bringing Wraith Harvest with them, blocking the attack with the sickle’s blade, more by chance than skill. Strange failed to notice how the crescent blade was aimed before she struck and wound up with her Artifact entangled with Odd’s, having been caught between the point of the near-circular crescent. “Did you even do that intentionally?”
“Couldn’t have if I’d tried…” Odd retorted, carefully peeling Wraith Harvest from the other Channeler’s Artifact.
Taking a step or two back away from one another, the duo jumped right back into their sparring almost immediately. Odd was left on the defensive, however, choosing to keep himself from relying on his newly discovered reactive intangibility. Now aware of the effect that Wraith Harvest’s blade direction had on how it could be used, he chose to use the back side of the blade to defend himself. Catching Strange’s strikes with the outer half of the curve, he was able to easily force her blows away from him. The Channelers appeared to be stuck at a stalemate for a moment before, with a quick flip, Odd managed to turn Wraith Harvest around and snagged Angelbreath in a brief moment between Strange’s attacks. “I thought you couldn’t do that intentionally?”
“Without some practice, I couldn’t.” Odd replied, giving another quick twist and a tug at the same time, snagging the winged staff and dragging Strange off-balance at the same time. She was open for a counterattack now!
~Now! Use the Aberrant Exorcism!~
The voice in his soul told him nothing more but a sudden flash of insight gave him an idea. Deep in the pit of his soul, he felt a thread connecting himself to Cadenza.
~Get ready!~ He warned the Shedinja as he disconnected from Strange’s Artifact. Drawing Wraith Harvest back, he made to swing with one thing on his mind. If Cadenza could consume souls, as could Adagio, and if Treble could transport souls through the veil between the Land Above and the Otherworld, why shouldn’t he be capable of doing the same by force? He had managed to steal spiritual power and tear souls apart with the Spirit Chain prior to it’s alteration so maybe he could still do so? Flipping the sickle’s blade backwards once more to prevent grievous injury to his soon-to-be victim, he swung hard and fast, slashing toward Strange’s midsection. All this in a matter of a second or two and yet, still, Yuna was able to react, even as Strange was still processing what had happened to her. Rather than meeting with flesh, the blade of his artifact met with another blade. That of Yuna’s Air Cutter, the buzzsaw of wind pushing him back. It took all of his focus to not be deferred from his attack entirely by Yuna’s intervention but he managed to push the Air Cutter away after a moment of hard struggling, completing his slash with far less finesse than he’d intended. The rough attack struck only empty air, Strange having recovered her footing and backed up quickly to give herself some room again.
The end result of Odd’s attack, however, was an odd sort of rip in the space in front of him, thin, cobweb like threads swirling into it like photons streaming into the heart of a singularity. It appeared the threads stemmed from both Strange and Yuna, as if their spirits were being unraveled by the force of the intriguing creation of his.
~Cut the threads or they will die…~
Odd followed the guidance of his inner voice and severed the threads spiralling into the peculiar rift he’d created. “That… was not what I had expected…”
“It was cool, though!” Carson offered as he rushed over. “It looks like you ate some of their souls…”
“Yes, it does…” Strange replied, feeling herself just a bit weaker after that attack. “That was horrid and reckless!” She shouted as Odd as she recovered her senses enough to properly digest what had just happened. “That horrible attack was intentional, wasn’t it?!” She demanded.
Odd shrugged, nonchalant, looking at Wraith Harvest for a moment before he glanced up again. “Well ya. We were sparring you know. I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen, though.” He admitted. “I used to have an ability that let me do that but it required physical contact so I was trying to use something similar.” He exclaimed.
“That’s absolutely atrocious!” Strange declared, flustered more than she had ever imagined she could be. “You’re an incorrigible demon!”
“Not the worst thing I’ve been called…” Odd replied with a shrug. The training session quickly devolved from there into little more than arguing over the moral ramifications of Odd’s attack. Odd and Strange remained divided with the male seeing no real problem with using an attack that might allow him to win in a tight spot. Eventually, the trio gave up and abandoned their training for the remainder of the day. Or at least each believed that to be the case as they headed to their rooms early. Each, in fact, had gone to train in solitude instead. Carson focused on controlling his flames better. Odd chose to meditate and attempt to better communicate with the voice within him now that seemed to understand how he and Cadenza’s power was developing. Strange, meanwhile, was trying to accept that she and Odd would someday be at odds with one another. Clearly, the two of them followed different paths in the empowerment of their spirits with hers taking the Godly path and drawing power from angelic forces while her male counterpart fell to the Twisted One and his demons. The training the following day went fairly well with Strange and Odd at least coming to terms with their differences but nothing of special note truly occurred. Driff had yet to return, however.
~~~The Morning of Round 2~~~
“Welcome to the Second Round!” Frill exclaimed as she appeared on the stage once again. The crowded stand roared. Most of the teams that had made it through the first round were gathered in their allotted locker rooms. Odd had looked over the matchups from the previous round already and while he couldn’t seem to predict who his team was to be fighting, he had at least determined who the teams that had moved forward were by now.
The first match went by incredibly quickly, though Odd paid it little attention. There was some kind of a strange hybrid that seemed to keep changing colors while fighting -a Kecleon hybrid he assumed-, who’d been using a whip-like sword against a Liepard hybrid with a really messed up sword/gun thing. Then a young girl with a scythe that could shoot bullets made of Elemental Gems fought a giant Honchkrow. Odd had no clue how the Pokemon had even been allowed to enter the tournament but he assumed it had a trainer that registered it somewhere. After her had come up a blonde female not much older than the scythe-wielder who fought with a pair of massive gauntlets and seemed to catch on fire and get a lot stronger when she got angry toward the end her fight. He assumed she was a Fire Channeler but it was hard to say. Her opponent was a silver-haired male with what looked like leg-mounted shotguns as weapons.And finally, another young woman with long white hair had squared off with what looked to be an Escavalier hybrid. The woman seemed to be spraying ice all over the battlefield as they fought so he made the assumption she was an Ice channeler and her Rapier appeared to be her Artifact. It looked like the four young women had won as Frill called the victory in favor of “Team Rose”, pointing to their side of the battlefield. It looked like they claimed the Kecleon girl as their newest member. Despite not really watching them, Odd had to wonder how some of these weapons were considered legal for a tournament. Then he remembered this was Otherworld and Maemen didn’t care as long as he was amused.
The second round went just as quickly as the first with the same kind of crazy fighters as the last team. The first fight pitted a young blonde girl with a massive scythe against a bloodthirsty male with a pair of katar that looked suspiciously like hands as his weapons. The male was put down quickly with only a single swing of the young girl’s scythe. Odd questioned for a moment if killing an opponent was grounds for disqualification and then, as before, remembered that Maemen didn’t care as long as he was entertained. Hell, the only real rule they’d been given was that they got to force an opponent to join their team when they won or the person they picked would be executed. Not exactly a lot of restrictions one what could be done. Just what couldn’t. The second fight was a young male who looked a lot like a Greninja hybrid. He seemed to have an incredible array of ninja-like abilities at his disposal but he was quickly dispatched by the rather plain looking man with the katana standing across from him. Admittedly, said man did come equipped with about two dozen additional katana that didn’t seem to be slowing him down and he fought with the skill of a one-man army. The third round came up with a man with black hair and rather unusual white stripes in his hair equipped with a pair of handguns that felt like they were spitting condensed spiritual energy against a Cofagrigus hybrid. The Kid won with ease, once he stopped blathering on about his enemy’s physical perfection or symmetry or whatever he kept going on about. The final round went to a young...something with pink hair. Odd couldn’t tell if they were male or female but they fought with a black longsword who fought against a female Ariados hybrid. The poor kid got completely wrecked.
“And now it’s time for Team Grey to battle their opponents - Team Sparda!”
“Oh Crap…” Odd muttered as he stood up from the bench in the locker room. “You guys ready?”
“As we’ll ever be…” Strange replied, reaching up to pet Yuna under her beak.
“What she said…” Carson answered, pushing himself off of the wall and twisting a bit to pop his back.
“Perhaps I can be of assistance with the readiness?” Driff spoke up from the doorway. “Apologies for my tardiness. I wanted to be certain all of my information was correct before we start.”
“You cut it a bit close, didn’t you?” Odd asked as he and the others headed for the door. “Walk. Talk. Now.” He told the old man.
“Very well.” Driff conceeded. “Our next opponent will be Team Sparda. They consist of two men, both hybrids, and and two women, both channelers.” He explained, walking in step with Odd and speaking loudly enough that Carson and Strange could hear as well. “The two hybrids are brothers, Dante and Vergil Sparda. Dante is Absol and Vergil is Houndoom. The pair are both capable of releasing their latent power through Mega Evolution but seem to have traded the ability to use most of their Pokemon abilities to do so prior to truly mastering their hybrid bodies…”
“Never heard of that happening before…” Odd replied. “Not like I know any hybrids capable of going Mega except the b*****d I plan to kill someday, though…” He muttered the latter part under his breath, preferring to keep that intention to himself for now. He seemed to have forgotten that he’d essentially already told everyone on his team he was planning a murder he had no idea when he would commit.
“And the two women, while not siblings, do seem to have been friends for quite a long time. Cereza and Jeanne are both Channelers. Of the Bug-type, I believe. Cereza’s partner is a Beautifly while Jeanne’s is a Dustox.” Driff continued. “They seem to have very similar skills, relying upon the insectoid abilities of their partners for various unique skills I’ve not seen the likes of before.”
“Such as?” Odd queried, stepping out into the center field of the arena, surrounding the battlefield, as he did.
“Both seem to have the ability to utilize some kind of skill that allows them to split their bodies into small duplicates of their partners to evade attacks. They also both appear to have an ability that allows them to seemingly move at unreasonable speeds, as if slowing time for their opponents while they attack uninhibited.” Driff explained. “It’s actually quite marvelous how similar their powers are despite the obvious physical differences in their partners.”
“Doesn’t matter…” Odd replied, he and his team finally reaching the center of the arena and taking their stand.
“Welcome, Team Grey! I hope you’re ready for this! Team Sparda is no pushover and they chose not to take a take a member from another team when they won the first round just to prove their point!” Frill told Odd and his teammates. “So who are you going to send in first?!”
“I’m going for our team!” Barked a Houndoom hybrid from the other side of the arena, jumping up to take his place in the battlefield. “Carson, you’re up. Remember. You can do more than burn.”
“Looks like it’s Carson Reala of Team Grey versus Vergil Sparda of Team Sparda!” Frill called to the gathered fans. They seemed fewer in number today, Odd noticed. He wondered for a moment what might have happened to the ones who were missing until Carson started the fight. Odd couldn’t help but notice the unnerving aura coming off of Vergil even from the ground and had to imagine it was making Carson nervous. The average onlooker would likely never be able to tell if he was, though. Carson remained calm in spite of the traded blows. He and Vergil both seemed to be sticking mostly to physical punches and kicks. It looked like Driff’s info had been right so far. As the fight drug on, Vergil seemed to be getting irritated. “Why won’t you just go down?!” He demanded of Carson, a violent explosion of crystallized light and energy quickly engulfing him and blasting the Ghost hybrid away.
“Uh oh…” Carson knew he’d have to use more than physical attacks if he wanted to win at this point. If his opponent could Mega Evolve, then he’d be stronger, with or without any of the attacks his Pokemon side could learn. Even as he began to worry, he tried to keep his Mind Calm, raising his awareness of Vergil’s movements. The now Mega Houndoom hybrid didn’t seem to be on the offensive just yet but Carson had a feeling he was Plotting something Nasty. “You’re not gonna win!”
“You can’t beat me!” Vergil Howled back, amping himself up a bit more before rushing towards Carson and throwing a hard punch. Carson blocked the punch, barely, and used Psych Up, glimpsing into the attacking hybrid’s mind just enough to duplicate the energy flow empowering him. “Now you’re gonna pay, idiot!” Vergil exclaimed, sensing the sudden increase in Carson’s energy as Psych Up took effect. Drawing back his arm in preparation for another hard punch, wild, demonic flames of pure darkness burst into life on his arm. Carson could sense very little coming from it but he still had a bad feeling. “Here’s your Punishment, kid!” With that declaration, Vergil’s fist flew through the air, gaining moment and more dark flames along the way. When fist met face, a wild explosion blasted into existence, the force of Vergil’s Punishment releasing in a single instant, the personally used and duplicated power ups that Carson had gained now used against him. The tangible evil in that punch was more than the Ghost hybrid could take and he was knocked out cold and sent sprawling across the arena, sliding off the side.
“It seems they have more access to their hybrid abilities than I was lead to believe…” Driff commented to himself from behind Odd and Strange, keeping his voice down low so as not to bother his “allies”.
Neither Channeler heard him, however, as they rushed to catch Carson and break his fall. The hybrid’s flames were turned down low at this point, barely flickering from the vents in the Chandelure hybrid’s joints. “Are you alright?!” Odd asked, worried.
“Why does it matter?” Carson groaned, coughing a moment later.
“We need to win this… But not at this cost…” Strange muttered to Odd. “He’s not doing well…”
“I know!” Odd quietly snapped back, fighting his inner desire to push Carson to get back up. “He can’t keep going after that…”
“And the winner is Vergil! Carson is unable to continue, either due to unconsciousness or death! I….can’t tell from over here…” Frill called out from center stage.
~Sterling, can we manage to win this? Truly?~ Cadenza asked as he floated nearer to his partner.
~I’m not entirely sure at this point but I won’t be losing if I can help it.~ Odd replied. “Looks like the Channeler Cereza will be taking the next round for Team Sparda!” Frill called out, looking over toward Odd’s team.
“Do you fight at all?” Odd asked Driff.
“Not in the slightest.” The elder male replied.
Odd shook his head and jumped up onto the battlefield with Cadenza floating beside him. “Looks like we’re up, then!” He told the Shedinja, his favorite little apparition taking up a stance at his side.
“So it’s Cereza versus Odd!” Frill announced, watching Odd walk across the stage to stand across from his opponent at center stage. Channeler versus Channeler! How will this fight go down?!” She had an inkling that Odd might win this one too, after seeing what happened when he fought against Yusuke in the first round.
“Well hello, little one!” Cereza greeted, pushing her glasses higher up on the bring of her nose with a gun he’d only just noticed she had in her hand. That must be her artifact, he assumed. “I despise children but you don’t look to be quite that young. Perhaps you and I can play a bit, hmm? What do you say, Pequeño Cerillo?”
“I say you’re gonna burn before this is over.” Odd retorted, his hands sparking to life with bright blue flames.
“Oh now, don’t be like that!” Cereza replied, her gun-occupied hand tracing a path down her torso and resting in the V of her hips and thighs. “I want to have some fun while I’m here and those two are absolute brutes.” She told the boy, motioning over her shoulder to Vergil and Dante.
“Too bad I can be one too, then.” Odd replied, barely hearing Frill call for the match to start.
“Oh but you’re so much more breakable than them!” Cereza replied, gracefully flipping away from Odd, her pitch black hair fanning out around her as she spun. “Let me show you!” With a loud pop, a bullet of compressed energy fired from her handgun toward him. Odd quickly snatched up Wraith Harvest from his waist and summoned a Guardian Halo. The spiritual bullet bounced off and lodged in the ground nearby, slowly fading away as the energy was released into the Circle around them. Releasing his defensive veil, Odd rushed toward Cereza, dropping into a sliding kick as he got nearer, hiding his shadow as he summoning thick ribbons of from it.
“You’ll have to try harder than that, Pequeño Cerillo.” Cereza chided, her body splitting apart into a dozen or so tiny Beautifly, fluttering a few steps away from Odd’s kick.
“Who said that was my attack?” Odd asked, releasing his swarm of hand-equipped ribbons all at once. He managed to snare around half of Cereza’s butterfly swarm though the other half still got away. “You can only do that if your partner’s healthy, right?” He asked, knowing how such abilities worked. “Well, since I haven’t seen it yet, I’m assuming you wanted it to stay out of the fight to keep it safe. Let’s see how this works?” With an evil grin, the ribbons holding the tiny butterflies clenched into tight fists and violently pulled away from their current positions. Butterfly wings rained down around the area Cereza had fled from as a Beautifly screamed from beyond the edge of the arena.
“No! Madama!” Cereza cried as she reformed. “The Beautifly Within has never harmed her before! How?!” She demanded of Odd, aiming her Artifact at him and firing a barrage of energy bullets at him.
“Cadenza! Telekinesis!” Odd’s body was gripped by a bright blue glow and quickly pulled away from his current position. Cereza’s bullets wedged into the ground again, once more beginning to fade away as their energy was released, as the one before them had done. “You’ve never fought someone who can analyze their opponents abilities in mid fight, have you? I may not be strong but I’m smart!” Odd told the woman, spinning Wraith Harvest around in his hand.
Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:21 pm
“Apologies, darling but I’m afraid that’s up for debate.” The curvacious female replied, moving swiftly to circle around behind Odd. He hadn’t even seen her move yet!
“How?!” Odd yelped as he rolled away from Cereza’s attack, her gun glowing as she built up some kind of charged attack in it. What he could see was her body practically vibrating. “You’re using something that increases your speed, aren’t you?”
“How very astute of you, Pequeño Cerillo.” Cereza replied, taking aim again and firing her gun. A blast of energy fired off from her, making it’s composition more clear to Odd now. It looked like it was compressed dust or scales mixed with hair-like threads of silk making a bullet casing or shell. “It’s not going to help you, though.”
“We’ll see!” Odd replied, summoning a Guardian Halo once again. “Enough chatting!” He finally decided. “Let’s get this over with!” Finally decided he’d had enough of all this, he waited to see how Cereza’s attack reacted to his defensive wall. It hit and hit hard but despite it’s power, the shield held strong and deflected it high into the air. Dissipating his spiritual armor, he jumped upright and summoned a javelin of Ghost energy. Hurling it toward Cereza, he watched her move out of it’s path. ~I thought so!~ He thought to himself. Her body quivered, almost orgasmically, as she evaded his attack. That was definitely something based on Quiver Dance or something similar. Every time she used that move to dodge an attack, she seemed to be a little faster than she ought to be for a few seconds and it seemed like her attacks could be empowered for the duration. Rather than giving her a chance to use that momentary chance to attack him, he summoned several more javelins back to back, throwing them, seemingly in a haphazard attempt to hit something. Cereza danced and dodged around his attacks, her body practically shaking now.
“Oh my! How fun!” Cereza quipped, her movements sensuous and titillating in all the wrong ways from Odd’s perspective.
“Are you fighting or getting off on this?!” He finally demanded, irritated by the woman’s lack of returned attacks now.
“Why not both, darling?” She asked, throwing herself across the arena, spinning around quickly as she fired her gun into the area. “Remember, Pequeño Cerillo, Love is Blue!” She exclaimed, her attack creating a rain of bullets far more numerous than a single gun should have been capable of creating. She seemed to be using an offensive ability similar to what she had used to evade his first attack, duplicating her gun instead of herself.
Odd was getting irritated at this point and, rather than simply deflecting the attack, his entire body lit up in bright blue flames. His Wicked Wick met the bullets first, lighting them up like tiny candles before they passed through his body, his Untethered Soul protecting him from the physical assault. Unfortunately, the energy contained in those bullets still hurt! “Gah!” Quickly conjuring up his ribbons, he used Ramses Curse to catch the burning bundles of Cereza’s energy and fling them back at her. The woman split her body apart into a swarm of tiny Beautifly once more in order to evade the attack and Odd took the chance. She seemed incapable of using the attack back to back, like it had a cooldown on it of some kind so if he could hit her before she had the chance to run out the clock, maybe he could actually her her. Tossing Wraith Harvest into the air, he used Ramses Curse once more to grab the sickle, cover the distance between them and swing hard at the place the swarm was heading. Just as the butterflies reformed into the solid form of Cereza, Odd’s attack connected, slashing her across the back and opening a rift like the one he’d created when he used the attack on Strange. This time, however, he had no intention of stopping the Aberrant Exorcism before his opponent gave in.
“You’re done!” He exclaimed, watching the woman writhe as her soul was ripped apart, small fragments dragged into the strange little rift inches from her body. “That attack will kill you if you don’t forfeit!” He told her as he pulled Wraith Harvest back to his hand and released his shadowy ribbons back their resting place.
“I won’t let you win!” Cereza retorted, trying her best to flee from the attack. No amount of distance seemed to be able to protect her at this point as her soul was dragged, kicking and screaming, closer to Odd’s rift.
“You don’t have a choice. I hit you with my blade so it could taste your energy. Now it can suck the life from you no matter where you go as long as I leave that rift open.” Odd replied, summoning blue flames in his hands again. “You want to me to burn what doesn’t get swallowed up?” He threatened, holding the Wicked Wick out closer to the woman’s chest.
“No!” Cereza shouted, taking aim and firing at the boy with her Artifact. It seemed to fail this time, though.
“Looks like you have no energy left to keep fighting.” Odd warned her, extending her burning hand closer to her.
“Fine! I concede! You win.” Cereza plied. “Just turn off this damned vacuum!”
Odd smirked as the flames engulfing his hand went out, reaching out and cutting the cobweb-like threads of spiritual energy being drained from the woman. “Good job staying out of the way of her attacks, Cadenza.” Odd told his partner, watching the threads be fully consumed and the rift close up behind them.
“It sounds like Cereza has chosen to forfeit the match to Odd so the victory goes to Team Grey!” Frill called out.
“Watch your back, Pequeño Cerillo. I may come back for you in the future. I like my men feisty!” Cereza quipped from behind him as Odd turned and walked to the edge of the battlefield with Cadenza at his side.
“Well too bad for you because so do I and I already have one.” Odd remarked, throwing her a devilish grin.
“Oh my…” Cereza muttered, cast her eyes back toward the side of the arena, to her own team, stood up a bit shakily and walked away feeling just a bit shunned now. That must have been a new feeling for her, Odd thought.
“Strange, do you think you can take the next round?” Odd asked as he landed next to Carson. He didn’t look like he was getting up again.
“Ya, I’m on it!” The young woman replied. As she jumped up onto the stage, she watched as the one called Dante mounted the battlefield in a single swift jump. Odd focused entirely on Driff and Carson throughout this particular matchup, almost expecting to see Strange returning battered and beaten within minutes. She had told him she was a support-type Channeler, after all. How well would she be able to stand up to an offensively oriented hybrid? Not to mention one who apparently had the ability to Mega Evolve. In a surprisingly short span of time, while Odd was attempting to use his channeling ability to pass some of his energy along to Carson, Strange returned with nary a scratch marring her martyr’s complexion and with Yuna perched on her shoulder.
“Wait, what happened?” Odd asked when he finally noticed her. He’d been so focused, he completely missed the sounds of battle coming from behind him.
“I won.” Strange replied simply. Turning to look over his shoulder, Odd saw the battlefield covered in tiny burn marks, similar to the ones he’d received from his training session with the woman and Dante sprawled out on the ground wearing matching burn marks and his Mega form fading away as he watched.
“And Strange is the winner, although I’m not entirely sure what just happened would be considered a legal move in any other setting than ours…” Frill announced, sounding a bit confused.
“What did you do?!” Odd asked, entirely confused. “I did something I tried doing to you the first time we trained and it worked. I’ll explain later, when we’re not at risk of losing everything including our souls.” Strange replied, though she seemed to be in no mood to be more open at the moment. “Now if the old man’s not a fighter, then one of the two of us is going to have to fight again this time. With four members to each team, we need three wins to claim this round., after all.”
“I’ll go again. I still have plenty of energy and I get the feeling the other woman will be as easy to beat as Cereza was if their skills are as similar as Driff believes they are.” Odd answered, standing up. “While I’m fighting, see if you can get Carson awake. You’re obviously a more skilled healer than I am.”
“I’m taking the next fight.” Odd announced as he and Cadenza re-entered the battlefield. “Jeanne’s the only one left, right?” He asked Frill as he walked to center stage and watched the white-haired female climb onto the stage and walk toward him with a Dustox at her side.
“I won’t be making the same mistake as Cereza. My own Madama and I fight together at all times. There will be a much lower chance you’ll win this fight.” Jeanne remarked to him, looking at her fingernails. “Perhaps your chance of victory will be as low as none. We’ll have to see how well you fight against us with your energy already drained from your last fight.”
“You’re a bit cocky, aren’t you?” Odd asked, glancing over at Cadenza.
“Not in the slightest, dear.” Jeanne responded, a cocksure grin plastered on her face as she raised her hand into the air and revealed an Artifact nearly identical to Cereza’s in function, if not form.
“Another gun? Really?” Odd asked, shaking his head. “Are you two supposed to be twins or something?”
“We’re Neopteran Witches, dear. We craft our Artifacts from the same basic design and customize them to our liking. All of us.” Jeanne replied, dropping her Parabellum-styled gun to aim at Frill. “Start this fight officially so that we can end this. Now.”
“Jeanne versus Odd starts now!” Frill yelped, darting out of the way as quickly as possible and leaving the battlefield open in order to avoid death by irritated Channeler.
“Styx, dear, Whirlwind!” Jeanne stated rather plainly. Her Dustox responded wonderfully by whipping up a powerful gale force wind that blew through the entire arena for a moment before quickly condensing down into a tight funnel focused around the edge of the battlefield. “No running away now!”
“Didn’t plan on it.” Odd replied, pulling Wraith Harvest from his waist and spinning the sickle around for a moment. As he did, he conjured a flickering blue flame within the crescent blade. “And just to make sure you don’t run, either… Let’s give this little fence of yours some SPARK!” He cried, flinging the flames into the Whirlwind wall that Jeanne’s partner had created. The flames grew and spread along the way so that when they met the wind, they were almost instantly shredded into a whirling wall of fire.
Jeanne didn’t say anything to Odd after that. Instead, she began to move quickly, using some strange sort of capoeira or something like it, Odd assumed, dancing and twirling around the battlefield with grace and flexibility, all the while raining bullets from her Artifact at him. Odd took the time to pay closer attention to these bullet shells than he had to Cereza’s and noticed, almost immediately, that these ones had a property not present in the other Channeler’s shots. Jeanne’s bullets exuded a faint odour, something sickly sweet and alluring but somehow dangerous. “Your bullets are venomous! You ‘Neopteran Witches’, whatever you are, compress the scales and dust from your partners into bullets held together with hardened silk and fire them with bursts of chi, right?” He asked as he blocked a few of the shots with a Guardian Halo.
Jeanne smirked but said nothing. Odd could tell from her reaction that he was at least partially right. He assumed it was about the venom infused into her shots, though. ~Double Team!~ Odd instructed his partner. ~Then use Silver Wind to bring them toward each other!~
The Shedinja split himself apart, dodging bullets with relative ease, more as a means of evading the poison than the shells themselves. Just as Cadenza made to strike, glittering dust pouring from his back, Styx attacked. Rather than a direct blast, the moth sent a cloud of purple scales from her wings soaring toward the Shedinja. Clearly she knew well how to take on a guardian angel. Sabotage had to have worked for her before or she wouldn’t be trying a Poison Powder assault. Luckily for Cadenza, his Silver Wind was already picking up, winds rushing around him and picking up the silvery dust he was producing, sending it racing toward Styx and swallowing up her poisonous powder. Carrying the Poison Powder with it, Silver Wind whirled and roared as it surrounded the Dustox, rising high into the air. Unfortunately, Styx having wings meant she was able to fly over the top of the small twister trapping her on the horizontal plane. ~This won’t work if I can’t trap it inside the wind…~ Cadenza informed Odd, the Channeler too busy dodging bullets and slinging flames to be able to really look.
~Get them together and I’ll pin them down!~ Odd replied, thankful for the ability to communicate on a spiritual level. It made tactical moves so much easier to coordinate when the enemy couldn’t hear it.
Jeanne gave him no quarter, however, raining bullets upon him in a near constant downpour of toxin laced silk. Summoning a black spear, Odd spun it around himself a few times deflecting a few of Jeanne’s bullets back toward her in the process, albeit entirely unintentionally, and hurled it a step ahead of her. The woman seemed to be moving faster than the eye could truly follow as she dodged and danced her way around her own reflected attacks. Flipping over Odd’s Devil Whisper at the last moment, she landed on her feet with a smirk, smoothly dropping to her knees and sliding across the floor toward him in a graceful spin. Odd threw a few embers of Wicked Wick toward her as she closed the gap between them but still managed to miss her if only just barely by a hair’s breadth. When she had closed almost all of the distance and was practically close enough to reach out and grab Odd, a pair of Dustox -like wings of silk emerged from her back and pushed her upward as she extended her legs. The result was a rising punch that launched her into the air and her silken wings wrapping around her to stick to Odd. Fight as he might, Odd couldn’t physically fight off the threads. Falling back to the ground wrapped in the cocoon Jeanne’s wings had become, Odd stuck fast on the ground.
“Oh look at that! A little torture’s good for the soul. My soul, that is.” Jeanne told him, aiming her Artifact at his head. She was so focused on Odd that she failed to notice Cadenza disappearing into the space between realms only to emerge a moment later with a violent burst of energy slamming into her back. She stumbled and fell forward a half step, whipping around to throw a punch encased in silk like her magically appearing wings had been made of a moment before only to find a small army of Shedinja facing her. “This is becoming tiresome!” She shouted, her Artifact starting to glow softly as she charged up some kind of attack within it.
“You’re right. It is.” Odd replied. “Cadenza, Telekinesis!” Cadenza’s response came back to him alone along their spiritual channel and Jeanne, unable to tell which of his clones was the correct one, was immediately snared by the blue glow of the Ghost’s psychic power. Throwing her, rather bodily, toward her Dustox, both woman and Pokemon were grabbed by Ramses Curse, Odd’s shadowy arms entwined around the pair and holding tight before either truly realized what happened. “You’re a bit more difficult to pin down than Cereza was…” He told her as the silk covering his body burned away. “I had to figure out how to get you two together to trap you both or this wouldn’t work.” Standing up, he revealed Wraith Harvest to have a circular rift formed inside the inner ring of it’s blade, swirling and sucking up the remnants of the threads that had contained the channeler a moment before. “I couldn’t get close enough to you to get a taste of your soul before but that punch? You gave me the perfect opening.”
“What are you talk-” Looking down at her hip, where she noticed a small cut in her clothing and a tiny scratch a bit higher up that was barely even bleeding. “You let me hit you!” She realized at last.
“You did say ‘a little torture’s good for the soul’, right?” Odd questioned, his Aberrant Exorcism beginning to drag threads of the woman’s spiritual energy from her body, even from where he stood. “Let’s see how you handle it being done to you?” The “threads” of energy being ripped from Jeanne’s body changed, at that point, from singular threads to smoke-like clouds of it. “You might want to give up before too long because I haven’t mastered this ability just yet and I’d hate to kill you again entirely by accident.” He warned her as she screamed, the feeling of her soul being ripped apart hitting her at last.
“My soul belongs to the Neopteran Witches!” Jeanne retorted, fighting hard not to give in to the pain of her spirit being torn apart, piece by piece. “My Madama will have my soul, no matter what you do!”
“Your Madama?” Odd asked, thinking for a moment what she might be talking about. “Oh, your partner. You lot must have a special named for them…” He realized. “Well, it’s soul is bound to yours. If I get yours, I get it’s too.” He explained, turning down the force of his channeled ability. He was starting to realize just how draining it was to maintain the rift for long periods of time and it had only been about a minute so far.
“Styx would…” Jeanne realized what Odd meant rather quickly and despite hanging in the air, caught in the grip of Odd’s shadowy arms, the young man saw the will to fight fade from her eyes. It seemed that, perhaps, she hadn’t ever realized just how entwined a Channeler and their primary partner pokemon became. “I concede!” She finally cried out. As she did and Odd released the Aberrant Exorcism he had been performing on her, the burning wall of wind surrounding the battlefield died out.
Frill, now able to see the battlefield and what was going on inside, could see how Odd had captured Jeanne and heard her forfeit. “And Jeanne has forfeit to Odd as well! Which means the wind goes to Team Grey with three victories to one!” The petite hybrid exclaimed, her voice carrying over the din of the audience just as it had every time she spoke before. “I don’t know if anyone really saw was happened in there but it looks like Odd earned the win! The battlefield is peppered with bullet holes and burn marks!”
Pausing for a moment and watching Odd release Jeanne, she allowed the female to exit the battlefield with her partner before turning back to Odd. “So, Odd. Who will you bring to your team for this round?!”
Odd started to speak and then paused for a moment. “I need to discuss the decision with the rest of my team first…” He told Frill, recalling that he’d promised the others that their input mattered and would be taken into consideration. “I know who I want but this time, my team needs to make the decision unanimously.”
“Very well! You have three minutes to decide!” Frill told the young man before he turned and walked to the edge of the battlefield.
“What do you guys think?” Odd asked his teammates, noticing that Carson was already awake. “Great job healing him up, by the way.” He told Strange. “I’m thinking Cereza would be the best option.”
“I’m not sure about that, entirely, but the hybrids are certainly out of the question.” Strange replied. “It looks like they can use their hybrid abilities but only after they’ve utilized Mega Evolution. I was able to win my fight as quickly as I did by exploiting that weakness.” She explained.
“Ya… I was doing alright up til that Vergil guy did it…” Carson responded, holding his head lightly. “They can probably both hit like trucks but if they don’t get the chance to go Mega first, they’re about as useful as me and we all know you two are really carrying us right now…”
“And it would seem that no one really knows what either of the women can do at the moment, unless one of them fought in round 1, which I don’t believe any of us bothered with finding out.” Driff chipped in. “And as quickly as you dispatched Cereza and with how well obscured the battlefield was just now, against Jeanne, the two of them are relative unknowns.”
“I say either Channeler will be a good choice and since you fought both of them, I suppose you would get to make the best call on that front.” Strange interjected before Odd could respond to any of them. “I know we said you should take our opinions into consideration but it looks like we’re all in, more or less, agreement on this one.”
Carson nodded sagely. “I have to agree. You make the call of which of the women join us and we’ll support the decision. You want Cereza to join us, go tell the announcer and claim her for our team!” Driff silently nodded in agreement.
“Alright. Cereza it is, then.” Odd replied at last, nodding to his team. Walking back to the middle of the battlefield and facing Frill, he pointed to the far side and announced, loudly and clearly. “We choose to claim Cereza!”
Frill gasped quietly. “I was sure you’d take Vergil since he’s the only one who actually won a fight but if you want Cereza, then she’s officially a member of Team Grey, as long as she accepts.”
Cereza nodded and jumped into the battlefield again. “I imagine death isn’t enjoyably painful so I’d like to avoid an untimely demise if possible.” She agreed, her Beautifly resting on her shoulder nodding in agreement with her.
“Is that a ‘yes’ or not?” Frill asked the woman, already exasperated by her insistence on speaking in suggestive riddles.
“Yes, darling, it is.” Cereza replied simply while rolling her eyes at Frill. Strutting across the battlefield, she jumped back down on Team Grey’s side and began to introduce herself to the rest of the team.
“Alright, then! And with that, the second round is done!” Frill exclaimed, surprising Odd once more. Was his team always slated to go in the last fight of the round?!
“Minions! You have entertained me well so far! Now, however, it is time to raise the bar and demand you to try harder to achieve this lofty goal!” Maemen announced from his position in the center of the massive colosseum, sitting above the main entrance to the battlefield. “The final round begins immediately! And effective immediately, all teams are dissolved with the final round being a Battle Royale between the members of all remaining teams and one special guest.” It wasn’t clear if he pressed a button or flipped a switch of some kind but a large trapdoor in the center of the battlefield began to slide open, prompting Odd and Frill to both jump out of the way. From below the arena, a massive silver Golurk slowly raised up to ground level with the others, gemstones glittering about it’s body and a single immense ruby set in the middle of its face.
Maemen’s cackle echoed over the stunned arena even as the defeated team left the battlefield and the remaining teams came forward. “Hang on...Wasn’t there supposed to be another round before the finals?” Odd questioned his team.
“I’m pretty sure there was but Maemen’s not exactly known for being patient so he probably just got bored and decided to move everything forward…” Carson replied.
“OK, that’s it!” Odd finally snapped. “If there aren’t any more teams, you’re giving me answers!” He told Carson. “You know way too much and this seems way too organized for a place that’s inhabited entirely by those guilty of greed. How?!” The Channeler demanded.
“Wait, what?!” Strange yelped, stepping back a bit, surprised by Odd’s sudden change in demeanor.
“He’s had an answer for everything so far. This city is supposedly inhabited by the people who’ve won the past tournaments? How is that possible? Our own team has worked together so far primarily because two of our members aren’t bound by the laws of this Circle.” Odd replied, looking at Carson once more. “I want answers!”
“Fine!” Carson replied, finally recovering, it would seem. “The city isn’t inhabited by previous winners, In fact, I don’t think there’s ever been a true winner of one of these tournaments. Nobody from outside the city can get along well enough. All the people inside the city are just Maemen’s minions. They do whatever he tells them to and he basically maintains the entire city for his own entertainment. He does provide lodging for those who chose to at least try but only until they get beaten. Most are lucky to not be executed immediately after they lose and if they’re part of a settlement, their settlement gets punished for their failure even though Maemen knows practically no one can win his fights.”
“So it’s all a sham?” Odd asked, shaking his head. “I should have expected as much. And you? You’re just going to keep entering until you win, aren’t you?” He demanded.
“Damn right I am!” Carson replied, his flames flaring up with his conviction.
“Your settlement is filled with people who just want to suffer as little as they must and live their afterlives in relative peace but you don’t care, do you? You’re just going to continue bringing them more and more and more misery every chance you get…”
“I…” Carson started, his voice cracking as what Odd said sank in. “Am I really that horrible?”
“Yes. You are. How many times have you attempted this now?” Strange cut in after hearing the exchange between Odd and Carson.
“This will be my 6th attempt…” Carson replied sheepishly.
“You’re so caught in your desire to stay famous that you can’t even see what you’re doing to the people around you!” Odd exclaimed, noticing as he did that Driff was suddenly gone.
“I’m not looking for fame!” Carson countered, though his face said he was lying.
“You don’t even believe that. How in the hell do you expect to convince us if you can’t convince yourself it’s true?” Odd snapped back at the hybrid. “If you’re not willing to help someone other than yourself, then you may as well walk out of her and quit now because I absolutely will not be going easy any either of you. There’s too much at stake for me in the Land Above for me to not be willing to risk everything here.”
“We’ve got another minute or two before the other fighters show up. Care to explain?” Strange requested, slapping Carson in the back of the head when he started to protest.
“There’s a hybrid up there who says he’s from another world and has powers that don’t seem natural to prove it. He’s crazy powerful and he’s losing his mind. He’s bloodthirsty and reckless and he’s already killed several innocent people looking for some way back to whatever world he’s from, one of them I knew, personally.” Odd began to explain. “None of my friends have been able to hurt him, either, and some of them are incredibly powerful in their own right. I’m the only person in the world that we know of who’s been able to wound this hybrid but I’m not strong enough to end him yet… I have to win this so I can continue my training and get strong enough to put a stop to Dull’s blood-soaked path of destruction…” He clenched his fists, tears welling up in his eyes as the image of Count Geist’s lifeless corpse flew past him all that time ago, followed by the sight of Beat standing guard at the portal into Gluttony, watching him. He didn’t remember all too well what had happened around that experience anymore but he remembered that Dull was the one responsible for Beat being trapped in the Otherworld as he was.
“Sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you…” Strange replied. “Then, if that’s what you need. I’m resigning from the final round. You’ll have a better chance at winning if you don’t have to fight me, too.”
“I’m not! I’m going to win this. Hurt me if you have to but I’m not giving up!” Carson insisted. “What do you really need from this, anyway? What’s the point of all this beyond getting stronger by fighting?”
“I need an item from Maemen’s treasure called an Obol. It’s a kind of coin that will make travel through the Otherworld easier on me and will allow me to stop relying on my Sensei’s power to come and go.” Odd explained.
“An Obol?” Carson paused for a moment and looked pensieve. “You mean something like this?” He asked, pulling a coin from his pocket that looked to be made from hammered gold and bearing a Decidueye’s face imprinted upon it.
“Ok, two things. How are you holding that and where did you get it from?” Odd asked, looking at it.
“In reverse order, when I died, my parents put them over my eyes, I guess. It’s some kind of a tradition in our family, I think. I woke up down here with them still there but I only needed one to get across the river.” Carson explained. “As for the other question… I dunno, really. Maybe it’s because of what it is? It must be special to not make me feel sick to touch it like everything else of value does down here.”
“Interesting…” Odd replied, thinking for a moment about whether he could convince Carson to give it to him.
“You’ve got me thinking about something now, though…” Carson spoke again. “You told Genkai that you would be willing to help me win this thing… and I told her that I was going to wish for freedom for the entire settlement.” He thought aloud. “But you made me realize that was never true. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I could never ask for something like that because it detracts from what I could do for myself.”
“What’s your point?” Odd asked, already well aware of everything Carson had just said.
“I’m willing to make a trade!” Carson blurted out, saying it quickly, as if it was difficult for him to say it. “I’ll give you my obol in exchange for a promise. Help me narrow this down so one of us can win...and I’ll let you take the win if you promise to use your wish to give my settlement their freedom from the curses this damnable place has them suffering from.” He explained before he had the chance to second guess himself.
“Are you serious?” Odd asked, holding out his hand for the coin. “If you are, put the coin in my hand. If you can do so, I’ll agree.” He offered, giving Carson the chance to either prove himself or show Odd his true colors.
“Dead serious.” Carson responded, holding out the coin. He struggled with himself for a moment, as if he wasn’t certain he actually wanted to go through with it but he managed to drop the coin into Odd’s hand, eventually. “I hadn’t stopped to actually think about it until you called me out on it but you’re absolutely right… I’ve been selfishly looking to keep the fame I had in life and if I got the chance to win and make my wish… I’d ask Maemen to make everyone in this plane practically worship me like all my fans did before I died.” He admitted, his head hung low. “I got greedy in life. I didn’t realize it, then but now that I’m looking back, I wanted more despite all I had. I could’ve had nearly anyone in Sinnoh I’d wanted with all the fans I had and I had more than nearly anyone else in the region… but I couldn’t be happy with that. Fix this for me, please?! I’m tired of never being happy with what I do have…”
Odd closed his hand around the Obol Carson had dropped into it and smiled. “Deal.” Maybe, just maybe, Carson could be redeemed? He thought to himself. The man had just accepted that he had been greedy in life and was still acting that way. He even fought against his innate instinct to take the glory for himself just to ensure that the promise he’d made, even if he’d never really intended to keep it when it was made, was upheld.
~Are you sure about this? Wasn’t your directive to obtain an Obol from Maemen?~ Cadenza asked, sitting nearby and watching what was happening.
~No, actually. Amaya said I was to obtain one. We assumed winning the tournament would be the only way.~ Odd replied.
~...~ Cadenza couldn’t argue that Odd was technically correct in that regard. They had successfully obtained the Obol. Maybe if they could achieve this, perhaps they could also complete the second half of the old woman’s request. ~Very well. We should be certain to win, then.~
Odd nodded both to himself and Cadenza as well as to confirm to Carson that he was serious as well. By now, though, there were more people arriving. It appeared that there were three teams that had made it to this point, each of them with a total of five members. However, Odd’s team was now lacking in two members, though, so that left a total of 13 people, plus that gargantuan Golurk that was likely to be fighting just as hard as anyone else. “This isn’t going to be easy…” He realized. “We need to use everything around us to our advantage if we’re going to get any chance at all of winning this.”
“You also need to be aware that I’m not helping you, boys.” Cereza announced, reminding the pair of her presence. “I won’t lie, I feel like someone with a worthy cause deserves the win more than anyone else but that’s too bad. Because I want to win far more than you need to.” She assured Odd.
“Fine. Don’t help us. We’ll be forced to take you out alongside everyone else in our way.” Carson assured her, his flames flaring up with his determination.
“And the combatants are all present. Be aware that there will be only one winner and I will be the one who decides the final victor. Also be aware that if my Golurk is the only one standing at any time, it will be declared the victor and all participants who still live will be executed. Anyone wishing to save their own souls may choose to leave now, however, without fear of punishment. I am not so callous as to lack empathy for those with a healthy sense of self preservation, after all.” Maemen called over the arena once everyone had arrived. About half of the remaining fighters seemed to have had enough of this and all walked toward Frill to announce they were withdrawing, alongside Strange and, Odd noticed, Driff.
“Hm. Weaklings. All of them.” Maemen declared, directing a scoff at the collection of fighters gathered around Frill. “Oh? It appears one has changed their mind. Good for them!” He cheered upon seeing a solitary figure walking back toward the rest of the fighters.
“I am no weakling!” Strange asserted aloud as she approached Odd and Carson. “I’ve changed my mind!”
Odd couldn’t help but feel for the woman’s desire to prove herself and, despite how foolish he felt like it might be, he ended up filling her in on the plan he and Carson had agreed upon with a single alteration. “Why don’t we work together to take on the others and take down the golem? If we take out everyone except each other and then refuse to fight, technically, we reach a stalemate and Maemen will be forced to declare this a three-way tie for victory.” She was sure of that and refused to budge on it.
“Fine. We’ll try it your way but if he threatens to kill us or something, I’ll end you and let this end with the plan we came up with when you chickened out.” Carson warned her.
“FIGHT, MINIONS!!!” Maemen finally bellowed over the arena, once everyone who’d chosen to save their own lives had been filtered out. The gilded Golurk taking up center stage instantly began to move, hurling it’s shadow-cloaked fists around itself in wide punches and slamming it’s feet into the ground to create shockwaves of ever-increasing Magnitude.
Odd and Carson weren’t the first to move but they were the first to move wisely. Darting in opposite directions, the pair used their flames to push other combatants around the battlefield. Carson’s flames, however, came to prove themselves ineffective when he found himself staring down a white-furred Ninetailes hybrid. Instead of fire, he opted to throw Acid at the hybrid. The corrosive liquid was frozen solid by a gust of Icy Wind. “Oh, you’re one of those fancy pants’.” The hybrid realized, only now using his flames. Tossing multiple Flame Bursts at the Alolan Ninetails hybrid, he watched them cow away from the flames when they exploded like small fireworks. Which, as it turned out, ended up being all he had to do. The Gilded Golurk’s stomping and thrashing, it ended up swinging a massive Shadow Punch toward the Ninetails hybrid and because of them being distracted by Carson’s attack, they were slammed square in the small of the back and sent flying across the arena, practically splattering on the wall and leaving an icy smear as they fell to the ground, most likely split open from one end to the other by the force of the impact. “Gross…” Carson commented to himself before taking off again, using his Flame Bursts to propel himself through the air in order to move faster.
While Odd threw blue flames forged from his Wicked Wick at other combatants, most merely evaded the flames and went back to fighting against the “stronger” enemies, considering him a weakling not worth their time yet. One, however, appeared to think he could simply snuff out Odd’s fire. He was a blue-skinned hybrid with white dreadlocks, a fluffy white tail and white, arm-like wings wrapping around his shoulders to rest end against end in front of his chest. And those yes! Pink and soulless, Odd though, despite the hybrid being a soul, himself. Despite his draconian appearance, which Odd was assuming due to the scales that adorned his skin alongside the strange white fur, he didn’t seem too fireproof. When Odd’s Wicked Wick hit him, rather than a mild discomfort and eventual shrugging off of the flames, the hybrid was near instantly consumed by them and screamed in agony, flailing about and running away from Odd. The Channeler couldn’t seem to look away as the Drampa hybrid was burned, still flailing, to ash. “Wow...Um… I...uh...I’m gonna need to learn how that works better…” The Channeler said to himself.
~Look out!~
Rather than leaping out of harm’s way, Odd found himself hoisted into the air via Telekinesis until he was barely out of the path of a massive fist surrounded by a fiery white aura. Golurk’s Mega Punch missed him but it certainly didn’t miss the young man in the vest and his Lampent partner. Both of them seemed to have been obliterated by the attack after it hit, sparkling shards of glass and a few wisps of smoke all that seemed to remain of the pair. “No wonder the losers are executed…” Odd told himself, upon the realization. It appeared that anyone who got hit by that Golurk’s attacks were guaranteed dead. Permanently. Even though the competitors in this tournament were merely souls, Odd felt certain that death here was true death - The death of the soul and an end to the cycle of rebirth that all souls were a part of.
From where he was floating in the air, Cadenza keeping him held aloft for another moment or two, he saw Strange fighting another hybrid. From the look of them, Odd had to assume they were a Sableye hybrid capable of Mega Evolution, much like the Sparda brother had been. This one, however, seemed far more capable of fighting back. Deciding that Strange might need some help, before he was too far out of range for such a perfect line-of-sight attack, he summoned a black javelin and, with a skillful throw, hurled it, screaming through the air like a howling daemon, toward the hybrid battling his new friend. By the time the attack made it to it’s target, Odd was back on the ground and couldn’t see but the scream he heard told him that he’d hit his mark. “Welcome to Purgatory, b***h!” Strange told the hybrid when she saw Odd’s Devil Whisper rip through the hybrid from behind. The Sableye hybrid flailed and dropped it’s large gemstone, exposing it to Strange’s attack. With Yuna on her shoulder employing a dark energy, the channeler infused her partner with divine energy, transforming the attack from a simple restraint to a holy passport to an unholy realm. Forced between the realms of life and death repeatedly within the span of a few seconds, the hybrid found themself soon trapped between life and death, unable to touch either realm but able to experience both when they touched it. Strange heaved a heavy sigh, unhappy with what she had just done but knowing that, at the moment, it was one of few options. At least her victim, provided they didn’t die from the wound Odd had inflicted upon them, would be able to escape the place she’d sent them eventually.
Looking around, it looked like, between the three of them and Golurk, there were only three remaining fighters. The others must have dealt with each other fairly quickly or Golurk had better aim than it seemed like. One of the remaining fighters turned out to be Cereza. “I told you I’d be fighting for my own victory, darlings!” She quipped when she saw the trio whom had claimed them for their team only a moment before this wild orgy of violence and gore had begun. “Madama, Aerial Ace!” The woman’s Beautify responded beautifully, as it’s name implied, by gracefully swooping in and picking her up, carrying her around the battlefield at incredible speeds while Cereza sprayed her Artifact’s bullets toward the remaining fighters. Odd defended himself with his Guardian Halo, deflecting whatever came his way. Strange managed when Yuna produced a massive Air Slash, cutting the very atmosphere around them to divide the wave of bullets around the pair. Carson, on the other hand, wasn’t harmed too much by the bullets but still took a beating from them for a moment before he used his Inferno in a manner he’d seen Odd use his own spectral flames not too long ago. Setting himself aflame, the bullets got caught up in his burning aura and simply melted away without hitting him afterward.
Of the remaining fighters, one was another Channeler, of the Steel type it looked like. He and his Durant partner seemed to work well together with the pair proving themselves fairly resistant to the attacks thrown their way. The man summoned multiple steely blades from his body as he slashed his way through incoming attacks both from Golurk and the other fighters. As he moved, Odd noticed what looked like earbugs lodged into his ears with Durant covering the device they were plugged into as it clung to his back and served as a sentinel to watch him from behind. When Golurk attacked them, the Channeler’s body seemed to turn to living steel, making them able to tank the hit and push it away. They blocked attacks they couldn’t tank with what looked like a wave of iron sand that hardened into walls capable of changing an attack’s direction even if it couldn’t be blocked.
Odd looked to Carson before signalling they needed to focus on him soon or they would have trouble later. “Cadenza, let’s get rid of Cereza!” He told his partner as he began to move. “Hey, Cereza! I know butterflies with a hell of a lot more ‘oomph’ than you’ve got!” He taunted the woman and her partner, referring to Beau and his tendency to explode or at least cause explosions.
“How dare you!” Cereza snapped back, turning to face him, he partner letting her go as she did. Flipping gracefully through the air, the woman landing atop Golurk’s immense fist as it swung around the area, glowing with a brownish aura, Dynamic Punch’s wildly low accuracy meaning that, size or not, it wasn’t the most reliably accurate attack. Cereza rode the beast’s arm around as it spun and then launched herself off of it’s arm with her powerful legs extended. “Gust, Madama!” She ordered her partner just as she jumped. The Beautifly sent a horizontal twister flying toward Odd, engulfing her trainer as well. Cereza used the spinning gale to turn herself into a high heel equipped human drill bit.
Odd had learned by now that his Guardian Halo couldn’t block all attacks like Black Fabric could and figured it must use the same strange protection as Cadenza’s Wonder Guard. Which meant that Gust could hit him if he didn’t move. “Cadenza, Silver Wind! Spin it against the current of that Gust!” He ordered his own Pokemon. As soon as Cadenza conjured the sparkling silver wind spiraling against the Gust Madama was using, Odd took to a bit of attacking, himself. He had to act fast and wasn’t completely sure it would work but he held his hand out and summoned a black javelin of Ghost energy. It was narrow and would fly easily but that meant it would be hard to do what he wanted. With Cereza speeding toward him and Cadenza only able to hold her off for a few moments, he poured more energy into the javelin, causing it to grow thicker on one end. “Come one! Come ong!” He urged, focusing on what he wanted. Far slower than he wanted, the thickened end of his javelin grew a single, continuous “tooth” spiraling around it’s length. “There!” Drawing the grooved lance back, he took careful aim. “Cadenza! Bring the wind in and focus it! High and tight!” He ordered, jumping backwards as he did. Cadenza redirected his Silver Wind, allowing Cereza and her accompanying Gust to race toward Odd. The Silver Wind turned into a focused slipstream that shot over Odd’s shoulder and started to pull at the Devil Whisper lance in his hand. With a single hard throw, Odd released it.
With a roar that seemed to cut through the entire Circle of Greed, Odd’s Devil Whisper screamed through the air, spinning faster and faster with Silver Wind pushing it. It met Cereza’s spinning kick and that was all she wrote. Cereza’s scream was swallowed up by the rushing wind and the roaring lance that cut through her, continuing on a path toward Golurk. The Channeler heaved a heavy sigh, realizing as he watched his attack make it’s way toward the gilded behemoth that he had used up most of his energy by now. He had to replenish it somehow if he was going to keep fighting and win this. The only way he could do so, however, was with rest or… “Aberrant Exorcism.” The more particular aspects of the ability dawned on him at last. “I’ve never had a destination in mind for the fragments of my target’s soul before… I bet if I use myself as a vessel, I can absorb their energy just like I did with Soul Siphon!” About the time he realized that, his Devil Whisper hit. And all but bounced off of Golurk. It did visible damage but with the reaction Golurk had, one wouldn’t know it since the mindless monstrosity didn’t even acknowledge that it had been struck.
“Cadenza, the last one!” He called out, seeing the only remaining person other than the Durant Channeler and his own allies get creamed by a Stomping Tantrum as he did. “Pin him down!” The Shedinja nodded and began to duplicate himself via Double Team. The more of him appeared, the more erratic Golurk acted, throwing Stomping Tantrums repeatedly throwing it’s fists around with various elemental auras and, when none of them seemed to be doing any good against the ever increasing hoard of Shedinja, it finally rose high into the air and dropped itself from the sky with a Heavy Slam, intent on try to crush all of the Shedinja at once along with the remaining non-Pokemon fighters. “Everyone back!” Odd called out when he saw the Ghost flying into the air. He knew that move. Dissonance tended to use it prior to becoming infected with the Shadow Virus. Carson and Strange took his advice and ran away from the center of the arena, getting as close to the walls as they could. The Durant Channeler, however, ignored him. Coating himself in his Steel energy, he remaining under Golurk and when it came crashing down, he threw his arms up and caught it. He grunted, attempting to hold the mighty beast aloft, and succeeded, though he seemed to be incapable of doing much else afterward.
“Not what I had in mind but I can work with it…” He told himself. ~Good job, even if it wasn’t what you were meaning to happen.~ He told Cadenza via their spiritual bond, darting toward the Steel Channeler under Golurk. With Wraith Harvest in hand and ready, he raced up to the man and, not even cutting him, he tapped the man’s torso and smiled at him. “Thanks for that. I was hoping for a better taste of you than just a touch but I’ll take what I can get!” He told the man before jumped out from beneath the titan pinning the other man in place. Once he was out, he slash the air in front of him, beginning to channel Aberrant Exorcism into his own body. He felt the threads of spiritual energy being absorbed and, with only enough energy spent to keep the rift open, the man felt his chi slowly recovering. He closed his eyes as it went on, however. He’d seen enough of what was about to happen already, today. “Gaaaah!” The Steel Channeler screamed when he felt his energy beginning to leak away. His steely cloak melted away and in a moment, he was crushed beneath Golurk. In that moment, Odd felt a huge influx of energy and then it stopped. The man was gone.
Opening his eyes again, he felt himself reinvigorated a bit and watched Golurk clamber to it’s feet. “Strange! Use those feathers! Carson, blind it!” He called to his allies. Strange nodded and with a verbal cue he couldn’t hear, Yuna began to dance and send golden feathers fluttering into the air. Carson used his Flame Bursts to launch himself into the air and the moment Golurk reached to swat at Strange on the ground, he launched an Acid attack at the massive ruby that functioned as it’s only eye. With the purple corrosive obscuring it’s vision, Golurk stopped attacking for a moment. “Perhaps a bit of Confession will make you feel better?” Strange asked the massive creature, Yuna using Confide to weaken the beast’s stats. The holy power infused into the avian’s voice reduced not it’s offense but it’s defenses against her other divine-empowered abilities. Just as the Confession came to an end, Heaven Help You ceased to be just pretty feathers and began to explode violently, cherry bomb-like explosions rattling Golurk from the waist down.
Carson took the chance to hurl an Inferno at the beast’s upper body, sending a massive, crimson ball of hellfire at the titan’s eye. ~Cadenza, get me into the air!~ Odd spiritually ordered his partner, having an idea. “Strange! Do the thing! Use Spectre’s Inferno!” He called to the woman as he was lifted skyward. Strange nodded but she didn’t look thrilled about it.
“Yuna...Help me, please?” She asked of her partner. Yuna nodded and stretched out her wings, where they gained a reflective surface. Carson’s fire was reflected in the Mirror Move and, just as Yuna went to attack, Strange poured out the demonic energy she kept contained within her inspired by her Banette and use it to ignite the Inferno with her own spiritual energy and transforming it.
From the air, Odd conjured up bright blue flames of his own and hurled them at Golurk from a different direction, his body acting as a Wicked Wick. Golurk, still blinded by the Acid but now attempting to remove it, was unable to see the three attacks coming at it. Carson’s Inferno hit the colossus’ face and burned at it’s spiritual energy, inflicted burns that could be felt all the way down to the soul. Strange’s Spectre’s Inferno hit the Pokemon’s feet and inflicted a deep pain upon it, nearly crippling the beast and making it practically impossible for the monster to get out of the way of Odd’s attack. The Wicked Wick struck and ignited the daemonic titan’s spirit, feeding off the combined spiritual energy feed into the flames surrounding it that his allies had started before moving on to feed upon the Golurk itself.
This time, the special guest of the Tournament let out a mechanized scream, at last expressing some true emotion beyond an inherent desire to slay it’s opponents. The scream seemed to echo on and one but after a moment,it became apparent that Golurk had ceased moving. “Did we kill it?” Carson asked after a moment of stunned silence.
“I don’t think so. It’s too strong for that…” Odd replied, resting on the ground where Cadenza had dropped him a moment before. The flames covering the Automaton Pokemon had died down to flickering embers by then but it still didn’t move. “But I think we managed to knock it out like any normal Pokemon.”
“I feel sick…” Strange told herself, a forearm across her stomach. “But I’m glad we won.”
“Continue, Minions!” Maemen ordered them, screaming from above the arena gates.
“No!” Odd cried back. “We started this as a team and we’re ending it the same way.” He told the tyrant in charge of the Circle of Greed.
“What?! How dare you deny me!” Maemen roared. “I have the power to end you all right now!” He warned Odd.
“And we three have the power to put an end to your titan. How many have achieved such a thing?” Strange countered. “Do you really want to risk that we might have the power to defeat you and usurp your throne?”
“We’re not here to take everything. We won the tournament as a team and it’s ending as a three-way tie.” Carson told the man. “We will not fight each other any more. The fighting is over.”
Maemen fumed at the sight of them defying his will. “You will fight and two of you will die! There are no other options!” He shouted, his face turning red with rage at the insolence of these mortal souls.
“No. We won’t.” Odd retorted. “You think you have the upper hand here because of your status but you don’t. The souls within this Circle are bound by it’s laws, not yours. They do as you say because most of them don’t realize you are nothing more than a man who become master of his own sin.”
“You hold no special power within this Circle and you have no true power of your own. You’re so consumed by your own selfish desires that you have spent no time truly learning to use the power of your form. You can’t fight us, yourself, and we just defeated the biggest, baddest fighter you could have sent after us.” Carson asserted, flexing his muscles. “But if you agree to let the two losers live, two of us will forfeit so you can have it your way.”
“But we absolutely will not fight each other any longer!” Strange added but nodded in agreement with Carson.
“What do you say, Maemen? Do you agree to this or not? Have the tournament end your way or don’t. I don’t care.” Odd told the Lord of Greed.
Maemen started to say something but before he could, he realized something. This was truly entertaining. For first time in a very long time, he was actually amused by what was happening in front of him. “Very well. Only one of you may claim victory. I will spare the two whom forfeit but only because I have been enjoying these last few moments.” He decided aloud. What he was not expecting, however, was for Strange and Carson both to step back and allow Odd to remain standing before him almost immediately.
“We forfeit!” They announced together, leaving Odd standing tall.
“And that means I’m the winner of the tournament, right? Your tournaments always come with the prize of a single wish granted to the victor, correct?” Odd asked, Cadenza at his side.
Maemen grumbled, dropping himself back into the seat behind him. “You are...technically correct…” He admitted. For a moment, he grew quiet, mumbling to himself. “And I threw my Golurk into the battle royale, expecting everyone to die fighting it. I don’t have any other soldiers you can fight that would stand a chance against you if you three decided to continue working together….” After a moment of silence, he finally began to speak directly to Odd again. “Very well. Because of your victory and the fact I don’t want a riot on my hands, You may have your wish. What is your request?”
“One of my teammates is from a settlement near the river. My wish is that you free all those who dwell in Carson Reala’s settlement from all the curses of the Circle of Greed! I want them to be able to live out their afterlives in peace!” Odd exclaimed.
“What?!” Maemen cried out, shooting back up to stand erect, horrified that Odd could ask such a thing. “How can someone ask for anything for someone other than themself?! Greed does not allow for such things!” He demanded to know.
Odd smirked at the Lord of Greed. “I am not bound by the laws of this land! And the wish? It was requested by one who is! Carson Reala has seen the error of his greed and while he was not the one to win, he asked that my wish be used to free his settlement on his behalf, knowing that he was not sure he could make it, himself.” He told the ancient king.
“How can this be?!” Maemen demanded yet again.
“Doesn’t matter. My wish is made. Are you going to grant it to me or not?!” Odd demanded. “Your ‘slaves’ will likely turn on you if they believe their only chance at having their dreams fulfilled isn’t good for anything. What good are you to them if your tournaments are all for show?”
Maemen growled at the Channeler, knowing that he was right. He kept trying to figure out how he could get around this or get back at the Channeler but nothing came to mind. “Fine! The settlement is freed! It will take time to remove the effects of the Circle from them but it will be done. But this will apply only to those who are currently a part of it. Anyone who becomes part of it in the future will be unaffected by this wish and none who have been part of it in the past will benefit.”
Odd nodded. “That is a fair condition and that was all I asked.”
“Now tell me… Why did you not take something for yourself?” Maemen requested to know. He felt sure this Channeler felt some kind of desire for himself he was suppressing.
“I got what I came here for right before we fought your Golurk.” Odd informed him, taking the Obol from his pocket and holding it up. “You missed one of these when you tried to collect them all and it’s what I came for out of need, not desire.” Odd replied, channeling his energy into the coin in his hand. “And I plan on leaving now, thanks!” With that statement and the coin in his hand “charged”, the Channeler felt the pull of life dragging him back from the Otherworld. Before he knew it, he was opening his eyes to find the sky above him.
It took some time for the Channeler to explain everything that had happened to him within Greed once he was awake again, including why his Artifact had suddenly transformed in the Land Above. “I see.” Amaya replied. “Well, the method was a bit unconventional and it certainly didn’t come from Maemen but you did obtain the Obol, which was your goal.” She told him, looking to her Dusknoir now. “Dear, I need you to do me a favor. I want you to visit Greed, find this Carson Reala for me and tell me if Maemen kept his end of the deal. I also want to know if he has felt a change in himself.” Dusknoir nodded and vanished into thin air.
“Now then… We have things to discuss. This voice you say you have heard within yourself since the reforging of your Artifact? You say it seems to intrinsically understand your Channeling abilities and claims that it is the voice of your bond, correct?” Odd nodded, looking down at Wraith Harvest. “It seems that you have created a sort of second spirit within you. It is very rare for such a thing to happen but it can be both useful and very dangerous. Should you ever lose control of yourself, the other spirit may attempt to take control.”
“Wait, what?!” Odd exclaimed.
“You can gain control of the other spirit with much training…” Amaya explained. “It will not be an easy task and it will like take a great deal of time. It will also require you to be willing to take your own life, in a sense, one day.”
“I repeat; Wait, what?!” Odd yelped.
“You can gain control of the other spirit by forcing it into another vessel. To do so, however, you must master this new ability of yours. It sounds like you have learned to drag a soul into a nexus, a meeting place between two points. Somewhat like Limbo in the Otherworld but disconnected from both life and death rather that touching both.” Amaya continued, ignoring Odd’s outburst. “To master such an ability, you will need a focus. A place wherein you may create your own nexus. I believe an Odd Keystone would work quite well for such a thing but where to find one is beyond my knowledge at the moment.”
About that time, Dusknoir returned, reappearing at her side. A short conversation took place between the two and Amaya nodded. “It seems as if Maemen has kept his word. The one named Carson seems to have renounced his place in the settlement where you found him but seems to have found peace after telling the settlement that it was not him who won the tournament or wished for their freedom. That sounds like a soul redeemed to me.” Amaya grinned. “I will not lie. I was uncertain you would succeed in that regard but I am pleased to see that you found a way.”
Odd nodded and let out a rough breath at last. “I wasn’t sure I would, either but I’m glad he found peace more than anything else…” He told himself. “So...How can I master this new ability and contain this new inner spirit?”
Amaya nodded, recalling that she had been in the process of explaining such to the boy prior to Dusknoir returning. “You will have to use your new ability in conjunction with an Odd Keystone to trap one hundred and eight wayward, wicked souls and forge a Spiritomb with your newly born inner soul as the final addition.” She explained. “The experience of doing so will help you to both master the ability as well as remove your inner spirit from you and prevent it from taking over your body. That is your overriding task for the remainder of the time I train you. Learn to master this new skill and forge a Spiritomb in order to save your soul from itself.”
Odd nodded, suddenly both worried and somehow not. He knew what he needed to do now but he had so many questions at this point. At some point, he would have to find answers. “Thank you, Sensei. I will need to rest before I try to resume my training but once I have recovered my strength and energy, I will begin personal training to master this new skill.” He told the ancient spirit before making his way down the mountainside, which seemed suspiciously devoid of any dangerous Shadow Pokemon for now. Once he was safely inside the mountain, he called for Claydol to come pick him up. The team’s Taxi Pokemon appeared before him in short order and Teleported him back to HQ, whereupon, he headed off to his bedroom to get some rest.
[Holds about three gallons of water, medium.]
[The ability to condense and quickly fire off a stream of water at a target. The more chi one puts in the attack, the more condense, and deadly it becomes.]